The civil penalty for employers, which was last increased in 2014, will be raised by 300%. Up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach, and up to £60,000 for repeat breaches.

In the last 5 years circa 5,000 civil penalties have been issued to employers totalling £88.4m. Immigration enforcement activity has increased. They are now at their highest levels since 2019, up 50% on last year. Early indications show mores arrests in 2023 than during the whole of 2022.

Minister for Immigration Robert Jenrick said, “Making it harder for illegal migrants to work and operate in the UK is vital to deterring dangerous, unnecessary small boat crossings. Unscrupulous landlords and employers who allow illegal working and renting enable the business model of the evil people smugglers to continue. There is no excuse for not conducting the appropriate checks and those in breach will now face significantly tougher penalties.”
“…Illegal working and renting are significant pull factors for migrants crossing the Channel, where people smugglers will often use the promise of jobs and housing to lure people into making these journeys. Increasing fines will deter employers and landlords from engaging in these illegal and dangerous practices, further deterring people from attempting to come to the UK illegally.”

“…It also undercuts honest employers, puts vulnerable people at risk of exploitation, cheats legitimate job seekers out of employment and defrauds the public purse as the businesses and workers do not pay taxes.”

Employers and landlords should check the eligibility of anyone they employ or let a property to. when following the guidance there are a number of ways to do this:

• a manual or technology based check of original documentation
• a Home Office online check

The checks should take a couple of minutes.

How we can help

Have you considered using technology in your Right to Work process?

There has never been a more important time to make sure that you’re compliant for Right to work checks. Please do check that you have followed/follow the guidance to ensure you get your Statutory Excuse.

We continue to see examples with questionable documents or imposters since the introduction of share-codes. In summary, our clients using our solution uAuthenticate Mobile or our Digital ID solution uIDentify ensure compliance with the current Home Office guidance including a uniform process across their business.

Would you like to have this protection?

We offer free trials of our solution uAuthenticate.

If technology is not for your we have regular training sessions where we go through the current guidance.

Ensure you get a Statutory Excuse and avoid fines . Give us a call to find out more or fill out our contact form and we will be in touch.

The post Fines for illegal working are set to rise appeared first on uComply.

It’s massively important to us all, especially during these crazy times, to find a positive focus and your pet can help you through it all.

Our pets are usually important parts of our life and they give, give, give without asking for much in return. So, treat your pooch. Take them for a nice walk and spoil them. They deserve it.

If you’ve managed to eat all those extra portions of food during the festivities because you over-ordered for those guests who attended virtually why not include them in your schemes to lose those extra pounds. Regular walking will also help your pooch with their weight management as I’m sure like me they get their own extra treats over the Christmas period. At the risk of repeating myself, get out and walk your dog.

Not forgetting what it feels like to get some fresh air too. If you’re stuck indoors every day getting out and breathing some clean air does wonders. We all know that pet’s help with lowering blood pressure (that is when they are behaving!). Did you know that breathing deeply can clear your lungs, unblock a congested nose, give you more energy, focus your mind and it’s also good for lowering heart rate and blood pressure too.

Get out and walk your dog

Our “office dog” Sonny (above) tries very hard to be useful now that we’re working from home. He listens out for the door, interrupts your web calls and looks hopefully whenever you eat your lunch. He does however look forward to having quality time with us during walks. Surprisingly, whilst he can be quite demanding he’s also helping ground the whole family with his positive ways.

Steve’s dog (right) loves being out too but it does take a little more time to get him cleaned up.

If you walk the dog why not turn your phone onto silent and have a technology free time.
You’d be surprised what you may find in your local area, absorb your surroundings, look around and spot the wildlife and enjoy living in the moment. Take time to focus purely on your dog; chase them or take a ball to play fetch. They’ll appreciate your attention.  It also gives them the chance to be a dog, sniffing out scents and exploring different area’s.
Technology will still be there when you get back.

It’s a dogs life – or perhaps if you are from Jamaica, you could take your goat for a walk.

The picture was taken when last on holiday and there is no Photoshop involved, it really was a black and white goat!

It’s a shame that the current immigration guidance isn’t as clear. Why not try our technology based mobile solution it could help.

Each month we’ll try and post something new (not just business related) so, keep an eye out; you never know what’s coming next.

The post uComply’s walk your dog appeared first on uComply.

What Does Brexit Mean For Compliance?

At the time of writing, the specifics of the Brexit deal are still very much up in the air. With unprecedented levels of detail to be decided , negotiations still to be finalised ramifications for businesses could last years.

This type of uncertainty makes planning for Brexit considerably more difficult than preparing yourself for GDPR. Whilst the latter are defined rules / regulations, the former is seemingly in a state of flux. Add to the mix, the highly complex nature of any deal, and it’s hard to plan for the future when you don’t know what it will look like. One of these elements relates directly to compliance for Right to Work.  It is worthwhile asking a few questions

• Will there be any new rules?
• What will employers need to do?
• Can you be certain that you will be compliant when these changes happen?

Unfortunately, when it comes to the issue of compliance, pleading ignorance is never going to be good enough.

uAuthenticate Offers Protection From Day Zero

No matter when Brexit finally arrives, you need to ready. You can have tools in place that you can trust no matter what the business landscape looks like. Above all this is where the idea of an adaptable system comes into its own.

uAuthenticate is constantly updated to ensure 100% compliance with all rules,  regulations and standards. Using uAuthenticate you ensure your business has a built-in safeguard in an ever-changing world. This provides intelligent insulation against any Right to Work guidance changes which could otherwise impact your business.

In summary, get peace of mind that RTW is taken care of and redirect your team’s time / energy to planning on other knock-on effects of Brexit.

Efficiency Will Be Key in the New Business Landscape

With GDPR and Brexit hitting businesses in 2018/2019,  rarely has their been a time of greater change in recent history. Change is good in that it drives innovation — like using uAuthenticate to go fully paperless. Legacy systems can easily go out of date and feel the strain.

Our approach is to make a virtue out of the greater demands being placed on business, by using it as a key constraint with which we can drive efficiency. Looking for new ways to get more things done in less time is one of the areas in which technology comes into its own. By making repetitive processes quick and easy for people to manage in a fully paperless environment, we can join up multiple sites with the click of a button whilst at the same time beefing up your compliance for Right to Work in the UK.

That way you have the tools you need to get the most out of your team in a time when change is very much the word of the moment.

Tech ensures you can centralise training needs

As the business landscapes rapidly change, it’s hard to keep track of individual training needs across all of your staff. By using tools like uAuthenticate to centralise key Right to Work processes, you can readily identify training gaps. Perfect for ensuring that your team is always pulling in the same direction.

Finally thoughts on compliance for Right to Work in the UK

Technolgy has a role to play in driving efficiency in business, now more than ever. With unprecedented, and as yet undefined change on the horizon in the form of Brexit, it pays to use technology. Use this to insulate yourself against any changes and ensure your compliance for Right to Work in the UK.

Why not give us a call and see how we can help?

The post How Technology Can Guarantee Compliance for Right to Work appeared first on uComply.

The most important thing about learning a new skill is applying it. By offering engaging practical training sessions we allow you to put your knowledge and skills about Right to Work into practice so that you can see how everything fits together.

Whether it be group discussions, vetting fake documentation, or a quick test, we put you through your paces with real world examples. This approach allows your team to gain experience quickly and efficiently. Essential for gaining both confidence, and competence, when it comes to doing the job the right way.

With the ability to spot a fake in the field your team will be able to draw on experience when they come to do it for real. We also devote time to highlighting common pitfalls and mistakes that we’ve seen over the years.

Our refresher Courses Keep Your Knowledge Current ….

Investing in training is not a one-off outlay. Over time knowledge will fade if not regularly applied, and it will also become outdated as new processes and practices come into force. Understanding and applying the guidance from the Home Office and some of the nuances is important for you as employers

To ensure that everyone can identify fake documentation and use the latest tools available to them we offer intensive refresher courses. As the perfect forum to discuss new ideas and top up skills, they offer a unique chance to ensure that your team are always one step ahead.

Tech Demos Show Your Team What Tools are Available

We believe that everyone should have access to the latest tools, and with that comes the need to understand how they actually work. Right to Work checks are a vital process that requires a depth of understanding if they are to be performed the right way.

No matter how intuitive or easy to use the tech is, it should never be treated as a black box that generates an answer. In our training we focus on giving you a view of the wider picture so that you can see how our tools and services fit into your business.

This gives your core team a far better understanding of their responsibilities, as well as some insight into how we go about making the process easier. By seeing firsthand how tech makes checks faster, more efficient, and more reliable you can make the smart decisions which will help safeguard your business for years to come.

Role Play Let’s Your Team Practice in a Controlled Environment

One of the daunting things about Right to Work is the repercussions for getting things wrong. By offering real life situations we allow your team to apply their new knowledge in a controlled environment.

Not only does this allow them to build their confidence, it enables others to see how the overall process fits into the wider business.

Training Sheds Light on Grey Areas

When you work in a constantly evolving area there will inevitably be grey areas. Our training is committed to shedding light on such areas at the earliest opportunity. That way your team will have confidence that they’re implementing every process and procedure in accordance with the latest rules and guidance.

Final Thoughts

Training is about far more than introducing a new service. It’s about building confidence, gaining experience, refreshing skills, and clarifying grey areas. This makes it a vital tool that every business should invest in. Read a little more here.

The post 5 Reasons Why Right to Work Training Matters to You appeared first on uComply.

How easy is it to obtain illegal documents?

The grey lining to our silver cloud is that this makes the UK an attractive place for all especially with the numbers of illegal documents out there. There are many from within Europe and beyond who have their eyes firmly set on working and living in the UK but, they don’t all have the necessary criteria for legal entry. So, what do they do?

The BBC published a video in May where they went undercover to see how easy it would be to obtain EU documents in Turkey.

It presents a new problem where the refugees who obtained permission to be in Europe legally are selling their documents (great use of recycling!).

Yet again, we find that social media is doing its bit. Without giving too much away, Facebook seems to be one of the sites facilitating the sale of these documents.

The video highlighted the sales of a German issued Schengen Visa but other documents are available at a price. It’s well worth the watch. Click here to view: BBC how easy to get an illegal passport

It really highlights how the criminal world can further exploit individuals using indebtedness.

Exploitation is out there

A typical scenario is;

• Immigrant arrives in the UK planning to stay
• Debts are built up by the immigrant from rent, food and illegal documents.
• The immigrant cannot easily get a bank account so one is given to them by the “landlord”.

Now they have documentation, address, a bank account. They can work?

The GLAA (The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority) looks to stop this type of scenario:

• Prevent workers from being exploited for their labour;
• Protect workers and potential victims so making them less vulnerable to being exploited for their labour;
• Pursue relentlessly, disrupting and prosecuting those who engage in the exploitation of workers.

We all as employers have a role to play in the modern slavery or more politely exploitation of people. By following the Home Office guidance on Right to Work we can help reduce this activity, but….

This presents another challenge for employers – “The Imposter”.

This is where uComply can help – with training

There are a number of steps mandated in the Home Office guidance.

One of them ensures that the person you are seeing with the original documents at the time of the check is actually the person depicted on those documents.

Fortunately, nature has helped us out here. Simply put, most people have a natural ability to recognise faces but, ensuring we all do this consistently needs an established process which everyone follows.

The picture on the left (me on a good day) gives a summary of what you can do.

When we train people, we use this as well as other techniques to hone this skill.

We all understand as employers that employing illegal workers can result in fines of £20,000 per illegal worker and or a prison sentence.

Importantly though, employing an imposter will incur a fine if the worker is deemed illegal. There are no legitimate excuses for not spotting a substitute person.

The reason why we follow the Home Office guidance is to get a statutory excuse. It has never been more important to follow the Right to Work process.

The risk of illegal documents is still there though. With people still willing to sell fake documents, illegal documents can and do find their way on to the market. Check it out, type “buy fake document” into a search engine. You will find many websites blatantly offering fake documents for sale. Vigilance in this arena still required.

Technology combined with training helps identify illegal documents.

Did you know that even a smart phone can be used to establish the authenticity of a passport, ID card, Visa, Biometric Residents Permit and even a driving licence?

Utilising “Near Field Communication” (NFC) capabilities the chip found on the identity documents is readable.

This gives the user an unparalleled opportunity to prevent the use of illegal documents in the enrollment process.

On its own, without using skills from training (i.e. user interaction)technology is not a panacea. When user procedures for Right to Work combine with technology. It is a game changer.

At uComply, to help employers get that vital statutory excuse, we have created a fusion between technology and process.

Our unique product uAuthenticate ensures employers follow the guidance in a consistent manner and records all the results securely. At the same time, it checks document authenticity and supports consent based document capture (i.e. GDPR compliant).

We offer training which incorporates facial recognition, document inspection techniques and how to ensure that you follow the Home Office Right to Work guidance process.

The post Europe under threat from illegal documents? appeared first on uComply.

Everyone has a right to work, but not all have the right to work in the UK. Employing those who want to work here is one issue, but employing those who can legally work here is another.

Checking the legality of documentation is fast becoming an enormous problem with the production of better fake documents.
From now until Brexit day we anticipate thousands of workers will enter the UK before the door is shut. Many will be in the FM, care, healthcare, building, catering and leisure industries. The majority will have genuine paperwork and a legal right to work here.

However, a minority will not be eligible. Sifting these out is a big issue especially when fines of £20,000 or imprisonment are the penalties for employing a person without genuine paperwork. One firm using our solution is discovering many fakes. Based upon the going rate of fines you could equate this to a million pound saving since they came on board. It is hardly surprising as there are an estimated 8,000+ producers of fake documents across Europe.

How does the HR or regional manager carrying out interviews proceed confidently? An interviewer can, using our process driven solution, tell immediately whether the interviewee has genuine documents and is legally allowed to work here. For the less than the cost of a cup of coffee per candidate you get to sleep easy knowing that you do not have illegal workers  and are keeping on the right side of the law.
At the same time, HR could delegate large elements of the work to operational staff. As the right to work Home Office guidance process is built into our software it ensures a greater level of compliance even with inexperienced users. HR can oversee the results centrally focusing on the exceptions creating process efficiencies.

The right to work mobile version – uAuthenticate Mobile

For the Area Manager interviewing staff away from the office our checking process is completely paperless and carried out on a mobile.

The interviewer taps in the country of origin and a list of all necessary documentation will appear. They can then tell the candidate what is required for the interview.

Our solution allows the interviewer to take a photograph, save it to the cloud and the candidate signs the screen to allow storage of their documents. Essentially, providing a permission based process.

Now for the clever part – our App can scan the documents, read and save all the data from the information stored on the passports’ chip too.

All the information is stored safely and securely in our encrypted cloud solution for easy retrieval or easy deletion. In addition, a centralised HR team or compliance function can easily review all workers information.

The right to work desktop version uAuthenticate Pro

Ideal for office based HR recruiters on a PC or laptop interviewing a large number of candidates at a central location.

Our Pro version incorporates a passport checker (the same type used in airports and border crossings). This allows a forensic level of checks for the passport in UV, Infrared light and chip reading. The solution checks scans of ID documents against a document library like a technological game of snap. This system is the only one that offers Home Office Guidance and this level of full passport authentication.

The storage of PII for this solution is All the information is on the clients own servers for easy retrieval or deletion.

User speak

One fast growing contract cleaning company, Birkin Cleaning Services of Welwyn Garden City is one of our clients. They have uAuthenticate mobile and appreciate the system as insurance that every new member of staff is working legally.

Birkin CEO Paul Ashton finds the system essential to his recruitment. He said: “We looked at several systems and chose uComply because it offered the widest range of checks, the price is keen and its training is superb. Ultimately, the system demonstrates our active commitment to stringent processes and therefore peace of mind as a business owner. It’s easy to use, non-aggressive, does what it promises and our staff love it for its simplicity.”

Paul, who is Chairman of the CSSA Innovation and Technology Board has invested heavily in technology this year. He said “This is the first piece of technology that has immediately paid for itself, impressed our clients and enhanced our reputation. It sets the tone of professionalism right from the start at the very first interview. I wish all software was so easy and user friendly.”

What happens?

There will be some readers asking the question. ‘What if a very clever fake gets through the system….’. The answer is comforting because if the employer can prove that it has all the documents checked, cleared, signed and dated, there should be no fine. So as the forgers get smarter, so do uComply’s solutions. If the Home Office guidance changes, our systems are always up-to-date. We have the only system that incorporates Home Office guidelines combined with this level of checks. Furthermore, no data leaves the UK.

The process does not end once a candidate is clear as our process is continuous. We create alerts for expiring documents like passports, VISA, Biometric cards, country ID cards, ECS check and driving licences. Our development, help desk, data storage functions are UK based with no external call centre.

Our pricing is within reach of employers, contractors and recruitment businesses. Employing one illegal worker by accident can cause immeasurable damage to your business and tarnish your valuable reputation.

When considering employing someone the golden rule is ‘If in doubt – don’t’.

The post The right to work here appeared first on uComply.

In addition, with my presenters hat on I will be speaking at the Expo to share my views on this years hot topic.

Future proof your Right to Work process

A simple two minute demonstration will change your compliance Right to Work process for ever. The collaboration between our technology and your staff ensures your Right to Work process gives a Statutory Excuse. Also, utilising our unique signature capture, uAuthenticate mobile supports your GDPR compliance.

The best part about our Right to Work process App uAuthenticate mobile is it:

• works where you work – no more going back to the office all the time.
• uses your own mobile phones – no additional hardware.
• has the Home Office guidance built in – reduce the need for training.
• ensures that the risk of missing a step in on-boarding during your Right to Work process is all but eliminated. Essentially all your staff are taken through a wizard and follow the same uniform process.
• presents you with a fully compliant process at an affordable price.
• stores your data securely in a centralised cloud database (with worker permission) – a vital GDPR compliance step is achieved.

In summary, we are sure that you can benefit from our technology in your Right to Work process.

Despite this we understand that technology is not for everyone so, why not ask us about our Right to Work training?

We look forward to welcoming you on Stand 13042. Click on the link below and claim you free tickets. Or alternatively fill out our contact form.

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This is from a set of blogs which I am writing for TEAM which I thought may be worth sharing to a wider audience. The first looks at Right to Work image comparison challenges faced.

We are all individual and see the world with very different viewpoints. Ask different people the same question about an image that they have seen and you are quite likely to get different answers (Almost certainly when you get into details).
One of my hobbies is photography and I thought I’d use one of my pictures to illustrate how our perceptions can differ. Let’s take the photos of the moon above and ask, which photo is the one nearest to reality?

Which one would you choose? Do you care?

First of all, if your job or your companies reputation depended on it then perhaps it would matter…….

Secondly, the answer;

They are all the same photo but one has remained unadulterated and the other two have had varying degrees of contrast/focus elements applied. If you’d really like to know which one is as I took it, please send me a message using our contact form.

What planet are you on I hear you saying? (pun intended) How does this relate to Right to Work?

Please read on.……
Every time you engage/employ someone you run a challenge of not correctly identifying the potential employee and accuracy really does matter.

Facial recognition and the importance of the Right to Work image

Make an error here and suddenly you may be on the wrong side of a £20,000 fine. Whenever I speak about Right to Work checks, as per the Home Office guidance, I rightly focus on fake documents in the main. Based upon research in the field by government officials, “imposters” are beginning to make up a significant proportion of the fines issued for illegal working.  Consequently whilst delivering training around the on-boarding process for Right to Work I specifically drill down into identification techniques.

With reference to the pictures above, they are both of me (about 5 years apart). The left-hand image where I’m not smiling is what is held on the passport chip. (At uComply we use technology to access the RFID chip. As a result the users can see this electronic image, effectively you can compare the invisible versus the visible). The second image is from our company’s website.
The more observant among you may have noticed that the eye colour is different between the images. Should this be a failure? Especially relevant in this case my eyes do change colour based upon the ambient lighting conditions. Issues like this present ideal opportunities to engage with potential candidates/employees and get to know them better. Surprisingly eye colour differences would not necessarily concern me provided a few appropriate questions are answered. Ensure your Right to Work image comparison covers this element and stores any decisions made.
I cover this, and more during a training session, including the essentials of facial recognition. The Right to Work image check is a vital part of the process.

Right to Work and how to ensure you are protected

Simply put, there is a defence against not spotting the ‘obvious fake’ as you are not expected to be document experts, hence a mistake could happen. I defy anyone (who is not visually impaired in some way) to try and defend against an ‘imposter’. (i.e. where the individual employed does not look like the identity documents they provided.) This is a key requirement in the Right to Work process, consequently you open yourselves to a fine of £20,000.

This blog is the first of a series where I look at the whole Right to Work process. As a result by the end of the series you will reduce the risk of receiving a fine. If you’d like to know more sooner, then get in touch.

Finally being that time of year, I’d like to wish you all a prosperous New Year.

Find out more with Right to Work training.

The post Right to Work image comparison challenges appeared first on uComply.

Additionally there was an interesting point.  When photo to photo tests were done rather than photo to person that the error went up significantly for both groups.

These experienced checkers were seasoned Passport Officers with just over an average of 8.5 years experience. Students tested compared favourably to the Passport Officers in the photo to photo tests.

First, they asked officers to compare photos to live ID-card bearers, and observed high error rates. Secondly, they compared Passport Officers with a set of student participants, and found equally poor levels of accuracy in both groups.

Finally, Passport Officers haven’t  any performance advantage over the general population on a standardised face-matching task. Furthermore, across all tasks, they observed very large individual differences. While average performance of passport staff was poor, some officers performed very accurately. This was not related to length of experience or training.

As a result they propose that improvements in security could be made by emphasising personnel selection.

Authors David White, Rob Jenkins, Michael Matheson and A. Mike Burton – link to article here

Right to Work checks made easy

Imagine a technology solution which as a part of your Right to Work checks will let you know in a few seconds that:

• All the ID documents provided by your staff as legitimate
• You have the correct document combinations for Right to Work
• You’re receiving notification of any of the documents provided/stored are expiring or expired
• Throughout your organisation you follow the Home Office guidance procedures for Right to Work consistently

The post Can a fake fool the experts? appeared first on uComply.

The question here is, can we now expect all future NHS framework agreements for staffing supply to require this as the norm?

It has been well publicised in the media for a number of years that our borders are too penetrable by illegals, so much so that LSE research commissioned by the government, published at the beginning of last year highlighted that as many as  1 in 20 workers could be illegal.  The government have taken various steps to address this with the introduction of the Points Based System in 2008 and the Immigration Act 2014 encompassing the private rental market.

A lot of emphasis has been placed on enhancing pre-employment checks e.g. reference checking, occupation health, DBS… etc. and this is now an embedded process for many employers. One process however, which has not really moved out of the “dark ages” is right to work checking. Most employers still take a photocopy, say it’s a true likeness, examine the documents provided and then sign and date them. How can one keep up with the ever changing documents and their security features?  Training courses, employ an immigration specialist, outsource to an immigration lawyer or just trust that your staff are good enough to spot an obvious fake?

Technology has caught up and can offer organisations the same level of checking of documentation that is performed when you travel between countries to help ensure that all their employees are legal and the company does not fall foul of making mistakes that can end up costing up to £20,000 in fines per illegal found, possible custodial sentences and reputational damage.

Bringing the long established right to work process into the 21st century using document verification and in some cases, better still, authentication via scanners is a first step to protecting your company. Then you need to ensure the correct Home Office guidance is applied during the employment process. New guidelines were published last month and if you haven’t had a chance to go through these click here to read more.
As immigration is always in the news and it seems successive governments continue to refine rules and guidelines, wouldn’t it be nice to have a solution that combined both scanning and the guidance in one package?

uComply says “welcome to the new age” and why not take a look at what we have to offer

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