Digital identity document validation technology and processes to verify an individual’s right to work in the UK are “neither low enough cost nor simple enough” to benefit all employers or recruiters, REC CEO Neil Carberry has opined in a winter webinar.

Permitted in the UK since last April [2022], digital RTW checks systems were agreed to by the Home Office for employers carrying out digital checks on British and Irish citizens holding a valid passport, following the wide implementation of such technology and verification methods during the global pandemic.

With the implementation date deferred several times, the government said it ensured that employers had “sufficient time to develop commercial relationships with identity service providers [IDSPs], make the necessary changes to their pre-employment checking processes and carry out responsible on-boarding of their chosen provider”.

However, Carberry told the audience: “There’s a lot still to do to get this right, and we haven’t taken our eyes off it.”

The Home Office has recommended that employers “use a certified provider”, but according to REC campaigns adviser Patrick Milnes, it has “made no mention of intention to make certification a requirement for providers”.

At the same time, the Home Office said: “The responsibility for the check remains with the employer, and they must ensure the IDSP they select to complete the identity verification element of the check carries out a prescribed check prior to the commencement of employment.”

Milnes went on to say: “This gives uncertified providers a licence to operate, and leaves employers exposed to potentially unscrupulous businesses who claim to carry out checks but may not provide the required level of service.”

Even the economy is affected by the challenges around the checks, Carberry went on to say, as they contribute to barriers for UK and Irish workers in finding work quickly.

In his opinion, “the Home Office is the one department where it seems not to care about economic growth”.

For more on digital ID checks, see also The Big Story here and on p18 of the issue.

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