Brexit And COVID-19 – Right To Work Checks

For employees recruited after 1 July 2021, UK employers will no longer be able to accept only an EEA or Swiss passport or relevant National ID Card as evidence of a lawful right to work in the UK. Instead, they will need to see proof of immigration status which will include but not necessarily be limited to eligibility under the EU Settlement Scheme or the UK's new Points Based System (PBS) immigration framework. On a separate note, temporary changes to the rules governing the employer's duty to check and document a worker's right to work in the UK have been in force from 20 March 2021 due to the pandemic. These temporary changes will remain in force until 31 August 2021.  

Brexit: The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 and entered into a transition period which ended on 31 December 2020.  During the transition period, free movement continued between the UK and the EEA and Switzerland.  Those EEA and Swiss citizens, and where relevant eligible non-EEA /