When you consider employing someone you must carry out basic document checks to ensure the person is entitled to work in the UK. Nannytax has put together a guide to help you with this process.

The following three steps need to be carried out in order to establish a statutory excuse. The information below is intended as a guide only. For full details of the act please refer to the Home Office. You can either call the employer’s helpline on 0845 010 6677 or visit the website on www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Step 1

You must ask all potential employees to provide you with original documents as follows:

• One document from List A; OR two documents in the combinations of List B

Step 2

You must satisfy yourself that the potential employee is the rightful holder of the documents they present. The documents should also confirm the person is entitled to do the type of work you are offering. Please use the following guidance when making these checks:

• Check any photographs to ensure they are consistent with the appearance of the applicant
• Check dates of birth are consistent with the appearance of your potential employee
• Check expiry dates have not been passed
• Check any United Kingdom Government stamps or endorsements to see if the potential employee is able to do the type of work you are offering
• If the potential employee gives you two documents with different names, you should ask for a further document to explain this, i.e. marriage certificate, divorce document or statutory declaration

Step 3

Keep a photocopy or scan (using only the Write Once Read Many/Worm software package*) of the following parts of the documents shown to you:

• The front cover and all of the pages which give your potential employee’s personal details. In particular, you should copy the page with the photograph and the page which shows his or her signature; and
• Any page containing a United Kingdom Government stamp or endorsement, which allows your potential employee to do the type of work you are offering

*Please refer to www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk for more information on this software.