UK Immigration Rules and Share Code Right to Work Checks

This is no longer the case and employers can now use a share code to verify an employee’s status on the Home Office website. Proper use of the share code means that an employer will be safe from prosecution even if it turns out the employee did not have the right to work in the UK.

What Are Share Codes?

Share codes were introduced in July 2019 to simplify the process of checking an employee’s right to work. Since Brexit, UK employers are no longer able to rely on European passports for eligibility checks and so the Home Office provides this streamlined system.

The share code is a nine character alphanumeric code which an employee should provide to their employer. Using the code and the employee’s date of birth an employer can go onto the Home Office website and check if their employee has the right to work in the UK. 

What Can a Share Code Tell an Employer?

The share code will open a page with the following information about an employee:

• The types of job an employee is eligible to undertake in the UK
• How long is the employee eligible to work in the UK (indicating when an employer needs to re-check the employee’s status or terminate contract)
• What kinds of social welfare benefits an employee is entitled to receive in the UK, namely health care
• Is the employee allowed to open a UK bank account

How Can an Employee Acquire The Share Code?

The employee will need to create an account on the Home Office website and then enter one of the following: 

• a biometric residence permit number
• biometric residence card number
• passport number
• national identity card number

The employee will then have to state why they would like a share code which in this case is entitled ‘prove your right to work to an employer. The appropriate share code will then be issued on that basis. 

How Can an Employer Stay Protected With Share Codes?

The share code will be valid for 90 days and can be used as many times as necessary within that period. 

The employer is not able to rely on the information which is available on the employee’s Home Office page. They need to access the ‘view an employee’s right to work page’ in order to acquire a statutory excuse from penalties. They should also check that the photo of the employee corresponds with the person who is physically working for them. If a reasonable effort to detect an imposter is not made by the employer they will no longer have statutory protection from liability.

The employer should then keep evidence of the employee’s right to work. This can be in the form of a pdf document or a physical printed copy.