The changes increase the duration of the extension of individuals’ pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme from two years to five years. Currently, where an employee has been granted pre-settled status by the Home Office, they will have a time-limited right to work and the employer must carry out a follow-up check. The Home Office online service advises when a follow-up check must be carried out. Employers are still required to complete a repeat right to work check for individuals with pre-settled status before the expiry date of their permission (which the Home Office recommends doing within a month of the pre-settled status expiry).
The Home Office has announced that it intends to automatically convert individuals from pre-settled status to settled status where eligible. Once the Home Office starts doing this, at a repeat check the individual’s online profile will show they no longer have an expiry date for their permission and thus no further check is required.
For new employees (where an individual holds pre-settled status), the employer can confirm their right to work by using the online Employer Checking Service. Having completed the initial right to work check, a further follow-up check during the course of employment will not be required.
Guidance on employer Right to Work checks is available on the FSB Legal and Business Hub.