Access Screening
UK law requires every employer to confirm a person's right to work before their first day. From 1 October 2026, the Home Office is making the biggest changes to the scheme in years, widening who counts as an employer and who can be held liable when a check goes wrong.
Access Screening runs every right to work check UK employers need, across all three Home Office-approved routes: manual, online and digital. Every check is recorded automatically, so your audit trail and statutory excuse are always there when you need them.
A right to work check confirms someone is legally allowed to work in the UK. It's required for every hire, including UK and Irish citizens, and must happen before their first day.
There are three accepted ways to do it. Get it right and you have legal protection if it later turns out someone didn't have the right to work.
Access Screening supports all three routes, so the right method is always available, whoever you're hiring.
| Method | How it works | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Manual check | Original documents, reviewed in person | British & Irish citizens; some others |
| Online check | Share code, viewed via the Home Office service | Non-UK/Irish nationals with digital immigration status |
| Digital check (IDVT) | Identity verified remotely by a certified provider | British & Irish citizens with a valid passport |
A guide to Access Right to Work checks
Access Screening runs all three Home Office-approved checking routes in one place: manual document review, share code via the Home Office online service, and IDVT digital verification via Trust ID.
The same process, every time: whoever's hiring, wherever they're based.
The real risk usually isn't a business trying to cut corners - it's simply whether the manager in Aberdeen is doing the same thing as the manager in Plymouth.
1. Verify
Run online right to work checks and right to work digital identity checks through every Home Office-approved route. IDVT right to work verification for British and Irish nationals via Trust ID, share code checks for eVisa holders, and manual document review.
2. Collect
Check right to work share codes, confirm immigration status share codes, and gather right to work documents - all captured as proof of right to work in the UK against each candidate's record.
3. Record & monitor
Every check, date and follow-up kept visible in one place. Time-limited permissions are tracked automatically, with reminders before any expiry. Your team can act before it becomes a problem.
4. Stay compliant
Reduce manual errors, missed checks and administrative effort while maintaining full right to work compliance. Every completed check builds your audit trail automatically, so your right to work statutory excuse is there when you need it.
Right to work checks for recruitment agencies
Recruitment agency right to work compliance gets complicated fast at scale. Access Screening's candidate portal lets agencies run checks across hundreds of candidates simultaneously. Every placement carrying the same audit-ready evidence without anyone chasing it by hand. Check history travels with the candidate, so repeat placements don't mean starting from scratch. Time-limited permissions are tracked and re-checked automatically before they lapse, so temporary workers stay compliant throughout their engagement.
| Placement type | Who's responsible for RTW? |
|---|---|
| Temporary / agency supply (e.g. cover staff) | The agency |
| Permanent placement (client takes on directly) | The client |
| Contractor / umbrella arrangement | Depends on contract — check your terms |
The right to work changes coming in October 2026 - under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 - are the biggest shift to the scheme in years. More organisations are about to become "employers" than currently realise it.
Worth doing: map every source of labour you use (not just direct hires), and confirm who owns the check at each point.
Three new categories are now clearly in scope:
They are responsible for the check, not the host business.
Where someone is paid through an app, the platform is responsible.
Where a platform matches a service provider with a customer, the platform is responsible.
Where enforcement can't establish who directly employs a worker, civil penalties can reach beyond the immediate employer into the wider contractual chain. Protection requires three things to be clearly in place: contract terms on check responsibility, explicit substitution rules, and real identity verification.
Highest risk: construction · facilities management · franchised hospitality
Worth doing: review subcontracting contracts for substitution and verification clauses - not just standard right to work wording.
Any Digital Verification Service Provider (DVSP) used for right to work checks must appear on the OfDIA register from 1 October 2026. Using an uncertified provider puts you in breach - even if the check itself was otherwise correct.
Worth doing: confirm your provider's OfDIA status now. It takes a minute and is worth doing well before the deadline.
Why teams choose Access Screening
Right to Work rarely sits on its own - most roles also need DBS checks, references, or identity verification alongside it. Access Screening brings 140+ background checks into one platform, with one workflow and one audit trail, sitting alongside the ATS or HR systems you already use.
All three checking routes in one place
Share code, IDVT and manual. No switching between systems.
Automated candidate journeys
Candidates verify online. Your team doesn't chase.
Audit-ready records, always
Every check date-stamped and retrievable. Statutory excuse built in.
Renewal tracking
Time-limited permissions monitored automatically. Alerts before expiry, not after.
Connects with your ATS, HR system and wider Access Group products.
10 checks a month or 10,000 - the platform handles the volume.
There are three accepted methods for a right to work check in the UK: a manual document check using original List A or List B documents, an online check via the Home Office service using the candidate's share code, or a digital identity check through a certified DVSP using IDVT. The right route depends on the individual's nationality and immigration status. The check must be completed and recorded before their first day.
The candidate generates a share code through their UKVI account and shares it with you. You enter it alongside their date of birth on the Home Office online service to view their current immigration status. This is the standard route for non-UK/Irish nationals, most of whom now hold digital immigration status via an eVisa rather than a physical document. Access Screening handles the online right to work check within the same candidate workflow.
A temporary code non-UK/Irish nationals generate via their UKVI account, letting employers check immigration status online instead of via physical documents. Only share codes beginning with "W" are valid for right to work purposes. British and Irish citizens cannot generate share codes - they use a manual document check or IDVT digital identity check instead.
The Home Office divides acceptable right to work documents into two lists. List A documents - such as a British or Irish passport - show a permanent right to work; once checked, no repeat check is needed. List B documents show a time-limited right to work and require a follow-up check before the permission expires. Many non-UK/Irish nationals no longer use physical documents at all - their proof of right to work in the UK is digital, accessed via a share code from their UKVI account.
Identity Document Validation Technology - the technology behind a right to work digital identity check. A certified Digital Verification Service Provider (DVSP) verifies that a passport is genuine and matches the person presenting it, remotely. IDVT right to work checks are available for British and Irish citizens only and establish the same statutory excuse as a manual document check. From October 2026, providers must be registered with OfDIA to deliver compliant checks.
You lose your right to work statutory excuse - exposing you to a civil penalty of up to £45,000 per worker for a first breach, or up to £60,000 per worker for a repeat breach within three years. These are maximum figures; the actual amount depends on mitigating factors. In cases where an employer knowingly hired someone without the right to work, criminal prosecution is also possible. Retrospective checks do not establish a statutory excuse.
The right to work legislation changes expected from 1 October 2026 expand who counts as an "employer" under the illegal working regime. Temp agencies, gig platforms and online matching services are newly in scope. Liability can extend into the supply chain - businesses may be held responsible for workers they don't directly employ. Digital identity providers must be OfDIA-registered to deliver compliant checks. Civil penalties remain up to £45,000 per worker for a first breach and £60,000 for a repeat. Note: the changes depend on section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 being formally commenced.
Yes. Automating right to work checks removes the manual admin and reduces the risk of missed or incomplete checks. Access Screening routes each candidate through the correct checking method automatically - document, share code or digital - tracks time-limited permissions, and sends renewal reminders before they expire.
Yes. Access Screening integrates with the Home Office online service for the right to work check verification UK employers rely on, via share code, alongside manual document checks and certified IDVT digital identity checks for British and Irish nationals.
Yes, through certified Identity Document Validation Technology delivered via Trust ID, a registered DVSP. Candidates complete the right to work digital identity check remotely via the Access Screening portal. The result establishes the same statutory excuse as a manual document check.
Yes. Access Screening is built for recruitment agency right to work checking at scale: high-volume candidate pools, temporary workers, and repeat placements. Each check produces consistent, audit-ready evidence per placement, with automatic renewal tracking for time-limited permissions so nothing slips through between placements.
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