Guide • Compliance • 14 min read
Right-to-work checks in Ireland and the UK
Comment vérifier le droit au travail d’un candidat en Irlande et au Royaume-Uni, éviter les sanctions pour travail illégal et conserver des dossiers conformes.
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.
La situation en Irlande
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.
Les employeurs doivent vérifier la nationalité de la personne et, le cas échéant, examiner et consigner le permis ou l’autorisation d’immigration approprié avant le début de l’emploi. Employer un ressortissant non-EEE sans le permis requis constitue une infraction ; conservez donc la preuve du contrôle et notez dans un agenda toute date d’expiration afin que les autorisations soient renouvelées à temps.
La situation au Royaume-Uni
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.
Il existe trois voies : un contrôle manuel des documents, le service de vérification en ligne du Home Office (au moyen d’un share code) ou le recours à un Identity Service Provider certifié pour certains titulaires de documents. Suivez précisément les orientations actuelles du Home Office, car les listes de documents acceptés et les procédures sont mises à jour périodiquement.
Dossiers, délais et vérifications répétées
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.
