Right to work checks for a trades firm's new starter: what to check, 2 years of records and a £60,000 maximum penalty per worker, worked

You have a labourer starting on Monday. He seems fine, a mate vouches for him, and the van needs filling. Nobody has asked to see anything. This is the guide for that Friday afternoon.

What GOV.UK says

The GOV.UK page on checking a job applicant's right to work sets out these points:

• You must check that an applicant is allowed to work in the UK before you employ them.
• There are three routes: an online check using a share code the applicant gives you, a check of original documents with the applicant present, or an identity service provider that uses identity document validation technology.
• With original documents, check they are genuine, unchanged and belong to the person, and that photos and dates of birth match across documents. Make and keep copies.
• If the applicant's right to work is time-limited, check again before it runs out.
• Biometric residence cards and permits can no longer be accepted. Ask for a share code instead.
• British and Irish citizens cannot get a share code. Check their original documents, such as a passport, or use an identity service provider.
• Record the date of the check and keep clear copies that cannot be changed, for the length of the employment and 2 years after.

What it can cost if you skip it

The page says you could face a civil penalty if you employ an illegal worker and have not done a correct check, and links elsewhere for the amounts. The legislation is clear on the ceiling: the Order amending the 2008 maximum-penalty Order replaces £20,000 with £60,000. That is a maximum per illegal worker, not a fixed charge, and it applies to contraventions after the Order came into force.

Check: 3 x 60 is 180, and 5 x 60 is 300, so £180,000 and £300,000. These are ceilings from the statute, not a forecast, and the real amount can be lower.

How long to keep the copies

The rule is employment plus 2 years. Take a starter who begins on 1 March 2026 and leaves on 31 August 2027. Employment ends 31 August 2027, so the copies are kept until 31 August 2029. A starter still with you in 2029 has a file you cannot throw away at all. Put the leaving date plus 2 years on the file the day they go.

What to put in place

• Check before day one, not after the first week on site, and write down the date.
• Diarise any end date. If the right to work is time-limited, the recheck comes before it expires.
• One file per person with the copies and the check date. Keep it apart from the timesheets.
• Count the rest of a first hire. Holiday, pension and tax come with the same hire: see holiday entitlement for a first employee, auto-enrolment for a first employee and employers' liability insurance for a first employee.

What I did not read

I did not read the full Home Office code of practice (a PDF), so I did not confirm from a primary source the first-breach figure, the reductions or warning notices, or what counts as a statutory excuse. Commentary I saw puts the first-breach maximum at £45,000, but I have not used it in the table. I did not check whether the rules differ for genuinely self-employed subcontractors or for agency workers, so ask your adviser about those. Check the Order's start date and any later amendments yourself.

Overlyft builds AI staff who join your trades team and keep the new-starter file, diarise each recheck date and the two-year retention date, and flag a missing check before the first day, with the office manager approving every record.

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Check the GOV.UK page and your adviser for your own firm.