What does this mean to you as an employer? You:

• Don’t need to carry out retrospective checks on those who had a COVID-19 adjusted check between 30.03.2020 and 20.06.2021
• Do need to check physical documentation from the 21st June 2021

To get a Statutory Excuse when employing under the COVID-19 temporary guidance you should:

• Ask the worker to submit a scanned copy or a photo of their original documents electronically
• Arrange a video call with the worker – ask them to hold up the original documents to the camera and check them against the digital copy of the documents
• Record the date you made the check and mark it as “adjusted check undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19”

Please do check to ensure that you have followed/follow the guidance to ensure you get your Statutory Excuse.

Consider auditing the staff you employed during the COVID-19 temporary guidance period to check that you have followed the process above.

Alternatively, have you considered using technology in your Right to Work process?

We at uComply have seen many examples where questionable documents have been used.

In summary, our clients using our solution uAuthenticate Mobile ensure compliance with the current Home Office guidance whilst identifying questionable documents.

Would you like to have this protection?

We offer free trials of our solution uAuthenticate – simply give us a call or fill out our contact form and we will be in touch.

The post End of COVID-19 Temporary guidance for Right to Work appeared first on uComply.

If you actively employ European workers are you prepared?

Do you know what is happening with your existing workers?

Is there anything I can do to help with my existing staff?

From the 1st January 2021 for new European employees I’ve summarised the changes into 3 key points below for the new RTW rules. If:

• The employee has been resident in the UK for more than 5 years they should provide you with an EU settled status code. You, as an employer need to check this with the Home Office online portal
• The employee has been resident before the 31st December 2020 they should provide you with an EU pre-settled status code. Again, as an employer, you check this on the Home office portal but, make a note of the expiry date.
• They have arrived after 31st December 2020 and cannot produce an endorsement that you can validate. Then they are required to be sponsored under the new points-based system. However, employers have a duty not to discriminate against EU, EEA or Swiss citizens. You cannot require them to show you their status under the EU Settlement Scheme until after 30 June 2021. Therefore, You’ll need to check a job applicant’s right to work in the same way as now until 30 June 2021.

If you have existing workers who are from Europe then until June 2021 the current guidance remains in force. The employer does not have to police that their staff have applied for settled status. In short, EU/EEA nationals will be able to present their passports and/or ID cards to confirm their right to work in the UK.

Hiring from the 1st July remains unspecified and employers will need to check that EU/EEA nationals have appropriate endorsements. The Home Office in their new guidance document* (see note below) have indicated that they will update the guidance on how to conduct right to work checks on EEA nationals after 30 June 2021 in advance of this date.

Sounds confusing? It is important that employers check the governments’ guidance to ensure compliance. We can help with our virtual Right to Work training. Get in touch if you’d like to know more.

What can employers do in lieu of the New RTW rules?

A number of our clients have asked “what do we need to do”?

Template letter re the EU settlement scheme

In the short term the onus is firmly on the employee to prove their status.

For existing staff the Home Office suggests that employers may wish to communicate to their current EU staff informing them about the EU settlement scheme.

Points to note about your staff:

As the scheme is voluntary your staff do not have to apply:

• They do not need to apply if they are Irish citizens but still can do so.
• Not required if they have indefinite leave to remain or enter. However they can do so.
• As an employer you must not discriminate against EU nationals.
• It is important to note that if you need specific advice regarding the above you should contact an immigration expert.

We have a number of immigration firms who we can recommend.

For those employers who have a need to employ from the EU under the skilled worker scheme then you may wish to apply to become a Sponsor employer. There is a charge to be a Sponsor (from £536 PA) and additionally, a cost per individual worker dependent on the type of visa. For full details about the UK points based immigration system click here.

uAuthenticate will of course always be kept up-to-date as and when the guidance changes.

*The new guidance issued on the 17 December 2020 can be viewed here in detail.

Finally, if you have any questions please get in touch. Please use the ‘contact us’ message or, call 01707 802899

The post New RTW rules are coming appeared first on uComply.

However, when you taking on new employees you do have to comply with the Home Office guidance for Right to Work.

Our RTW offer

For a donation to charity we are offering every employer one licence of uAuthenticate Mobile valid until December 2020. Our chosen charity is NHS Charities Together (registered charity no. 1186569)

All employers are under pressure during this period and uComply would like to help. To comply with the guidance can seem onerous. You need to follow the Home Office RTW guidance. Click here to see the full 40 pages of documentation. Adopt technology, use our RTW APP in your organisation.

What is the RTW guidance?

The full RTW guidance asks that you:

• See the original document and ensure that it is genuine
• Tie the document/s to the individual, this can be using video.
• Have proof that the checks were made, including a signature and date of the check

Perform these checks and you will get a Statutory Excuse against prosecution if the candidate is illegal.

The image to the left shows how, using a few steps, our technology could help you follow the RTW process. If you would like ensure you have full compliance why not take a look at uAuthenticate Mobile

During the COVID-19 outbreak there are temporary changes in place to the current home office guidance for RTW:

• Ask the worker to submit a scanned copy or a photo of their original documents
• Arrange a video call with the worker – ask them to hold up the original documents to the camera and check them against the digital copy of the documents presented
• Record the date you made the check and mark it as “adjusted check undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19”

Once the COVID-19 period has ended you have 8 weeks to review the original documents.

This applies to all staff taken onboard during the current outbreak.

Our solution uAuthenticate Web will safely take you through this process and ensure you stay compliant with the RTW process. It will seamlessly dove-tail into our mobile solution to ensure any face to face checks are done in-line with the current guidance.

Help your business. Donate to charity. Let’s get Britain going again.

If you would like to know more please get in contact with us.

The post Return to Work our RTW solution for a donation to charity appeared first on uComply.

• Employers need to read the governments guidance on how to maintain social distancing on their premises. Don’t forget the environment the employees work within immediately around the presmises.
• Have you considered your employees mental health and are they ready to RTW?
• Is the time to RTW, right for your business?

Most of the stories in the media concern themselves with the spread of COVID-19. However, when you look ‘under the hood’ many staff are anxious and even scared! The slowing of the infections has come at a cost both financially and mentally. Business economics urges us to RTW, but as I’ve advocated before, your staff are one of your most important assets. If they are unhappy or worried then they may not be as effective as they normally are. If this is the case then the commercial viability for your business may suffer.

Are there any steps we can take around mental health awareness?

As an employer and out of interest I’ve taken a couple of online mental health assessments to see how well I fair. Suffice to say I do have some ‘lockdown fatigue’ symptoms where I actually thought I was doing quite well.
I’ve now asked my staff to complete the same questionnaires and answer them honestly. I have explained there are no repercussions besides getting an independent view of where their ‘head is at’. They can choose to share the results or not, it is up to them. Having all been working from home since march my colleagues surprisingly are fairing admirably well from a mental health point of view.

The two sites I selected were, Test your Well being and the NHS mood assessment. Whilst I chose these there are many options available both free and paid for that help you determine a level of mental robustness.

So, I urge employers and employees to be open and transparent with each other so that mental health can be addressed when considering RTW.

If you have any questions speak to your leaders and voice your concerns.

Stefan

The post Mental health and RTW – listen to your staff appeared first on uComply.