While welcoming the delay, those in the recruitment industry – consultancy and in-house recruiters alike – are uniformly calling for the cancellation of a return to in-person checks, saying that the digital check system imposed at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic has greatly streamlined their operations.

ions. Recruiters making the case to government for continued digital checks had also argued that the original 17 May date to return to physical checks conflicted with continuing guidance on social distancing and working from home.

Reverting to the physical checks will also “disproportionately disadvantage UK workers”, one critic said.

“This is a big win for recruiters,” said Shazia Ejaz, campaigns director for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). “It allows them to continue with digital checks while social distancing is still in place.” 

Ejaz added that the REC would “continue to push” for digital checks to remain in place “for the long haul. REC members have proven that these checks work and increase efficiency for all concerned”.

Tania Bowers, legal counsel and head of public policy at the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), said the organisation had notified the Home Office in April that the return to physical checks will “disproportionately disadvantage UK workers. This is because there is already an online checking service via a share code for EU nationals which can be remote, and for non-EU workers through the Government Employer Checking Service. However, the Passport Office has no online service for UK nationals.”

Bowers also pointed out that abandoning the use of digital RTW checks “flies in the face of the Home Office’s ‘digital by design’ concept”. She said APSCo will also continue to lobby government for a permanent digital check.

Keith Rosser, director – group risk & Reed Screening at recruiter REED, told Recruiter that the next Home Office policy meeting is 3 June, “providing an opportunity to discuss the matter further”. The Better Hiring Institute, which recently launched with Rosser as its chair, is lead on hiring for the UK GOV Digital Identity Project with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Rosser noted, and said the issue would be “covered by that forum” as well.

Rosser said: “Digital solutions are more effective than human, physical checks at identifying illegal working. If the intention is to prevent illegal working, physical checks are not as effective. A digital solution also enables faster, better hiring, opening up the jobs market, promoting increased mobility, and facilitating more flexible working.”

In-house recruiters adding their voices to supporting digital checks included Lisa Scales, head of talent acquisition for Nestlé UK & Ireland and a member of the RL100 in-house recruiters’ organisation. She said: “The virtual RTW checks have been absolutely necessary due to Covid, but similarly has enabled a compliance-led process to be simplified and has ultimately saved time – which can only be a good thing.

“We are seeing an uplift in the job market as we transition into the next phase of Covid, and we are seeing more movement of talent – so any process that can be supported by technology is welcome, given the likelihood of ever-increasing workloads over the next few months.”

Scales went on to note: “There are only 50 days left for EU, EEA or Swiss citizens to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021, and I suspect that will be affecting decisions made by the Home Office.”

Barbara Lee, also of the RL100 and senior vice president HR at Nielsen IQ, added: “We are eager for the opportunity to engage with government to discuss making digital checks a permanent approach. We feel that, in what is an increasingly digital work environment for many workers, a move away from digital checks is a step backwards.”

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