Guide • Compliance • 14 min read
Right-to-work checks in Ireland and the UK
Sådan verificerer man en kandidats ret til at arbejde i Irland og Storbritannien, undgår bøder for ulovligt arbejde og opbevarer compliant registre.
Why right-to-work checks matter
Employers in Ireland and the UK have a legal duty to ensure that everyone they employ is permitted to work. Getting this wrong exposes the business to civil penalties and, in serious cases, criminal liability. It is the local equivalent of the US I-9 process, but the rules, documents and record-keeping requirements are different and must not be conflated.
The right approach is to check consistently for every new hire, not selectively, because inconsistent checking risks discrimination claims. Build the check into your standard onboarding workflow so it happens the same way every time.
Situationen i Irland
Irish and EEA/Swiss nationals have an automatic right to work in Ireland. Non-EEA nationals generally require an employment permit (such as a Critical Skills Employment Permit or a General Employment Permit) or another permission that allows employment, such as certain immigration stamps. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment administers the employment-permit system.
Arbejdsgivere bør verificere personens nationalitet og, hvor relevant, se og registrere den passende tilladelse eller immigrationsgodkendelse, før ansættelsen påbegyndes. Ansættelse af en ikke-EEA-borger uden den krævede tilladelse er en lovovertrædelse, så opbevar dokumentation for kontrollen og før eventuelle udløbsdatoer ind i kalenderen, så tilladelser fornyes rettidigt.
Situationen i Storbritannien
In the UK, employers must carry out a prescribed right-to-work check to establish a statutory excuse against a civil penalty for illegal working. Since Brexit, EU nationals no longer have an automatic right to work and must evidence their status, most commonly through the online share-code service or under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Der er tre veje: en manuel dokumentkontrol, Home Office online checking service (ved brug af en share code) eller brugen af en certificeret Identity Service Provider for visse dokumentindehavere. Følg den aktuelle Home Office-vejledning nøje, fordi de accepterede dokumentlister og processer opdateres periodisk.
Registre, timing og gentagne kontroller
Carry out the check before employment starts, retain a clear dated copy of the evidence for the duration of employment and for a defined period afterwards, and store it securely in line with the GDPR. For people with time-limited permission, schedule a follow-up check before their permission expires.
An HRIS helps by storing right-to-work evidence against each employee record with restricted access, and by triggering reminders ahead of expiry dates. This turns a compliance risk into a routine, automated step rather than something that depends on an individual remembering to act.
