In January 2022, the government announced that, from 6 April this year, employers would be allowed to continue conducting remote Right to Work and criminal record identity checks, providing they used certified Identification Document Validation Technology (IDVT) supplied by a Digital Identity Service Provider (IDSP). 

A six-month transition period was established to allow organisations more time to select an IDSP and carry out their normal procurement processes. However, many employers have still not secured an IDSP partner, meaning a return to manual, in-person document checks would be required from 1 October, in just a few days.

The government has since launched a ‘trust mark’ scheme – the Digital Identity Certification Scheme (DICS) – to help employers identify those digital identity providers, which meet standards set out in the government’s Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF).

Although it is not necessary, the government strongly recommends that employers use an IDSP that is certified against the DIATF and has clearly stated that it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure their chosen provider is capable of providing the required checks in a compliant way.

For those organisations not able to get an IDSP provider in place by 1 October, the following options remain an alternative:

• Using the online Employer Checking Service to electronically check whether applicants are legally allowed to work in the UK. This service is only open, however, to eligible individuals with EU, EEA, or Swiss immigration status who can provide a valid share code, obtained from the Home Office.
• Conducting a manual document check using original documents from Lists A or B of the Home Office’s list of acceptable documents to ensure that the documents are genuine, and that the employee is the rightful holder and permitted to do the type of work on offer. Choosing this option requires employers to make clear copies of original documents, which must be retained in a format that cannot be manually doctored.

As Right to Work checks on UK and Irish nationals represent the vast majority of checks required on those seeking employment in the UK, employers who are yet to appoint an IDSP face a race to secure a provider if they do not wish to return to manual checks. 

Although there is a cost associated with the new partnerships, and it comes at a time when organisations face increasing financial pressures, digital identity verification does have many advantages over manual checks, with increased convenience, reduced administration times and improved security and reliability of results being cited by those already using certified IDSPs. 

The government has also stated that using an IDSP will provide organisations with a continuous statutory excuse if they are found to be employing an illegal worker who passed checks which were carried out correctly – an additional added incentive to adopt the new digital working practices.

There’s no question that adopting such digital identity screening methods will be a game changer for the industry – though how many organisations revert to manual checks and the impact that will have on businesses now used to the ease and convenience of remote screening, remains to be seen. Are you ready for it? 

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