1. Recruitment & Selection Training:
Eligibility to Work (ETW)

2. Every R&S action should:
Maximise your ability to attract and recruit the best talent
Minimise the risk of a poor appointment or unfair discrimination

3. ‘Immigration into the UK has been good for us but uncontrolled immigration is not’ Teresa May MP, June 2010
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

4. By the end of this session you should be able to:
Understand the legal obligations of the University
Feel confident in carrying out a successful eligibility to work (ETW) check, and challenge where appropriate
Be aware of relevant legislation and avoid discrimination when fulfilling the University’s legal obligation
Understand your responsibilities in ensuring that all employees have ETW checks in place before they start employment
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

5. Remember:
From 1 November 2010 recruiting departments have responsibility for carrying out eligibility to work checks for new starters.
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

6. Why do eligibility to work checks?
Prospective Employees
We all have a legal obligation to check the eligibility to work for all employees before he/she starts work
This check enables the University to have a statutory “excuse" against a civil penalty
2) Current employees with time-limited visas
We must repeat the check annually to retain our “excuse”
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

7. Why this is relevant to you and your role?
We all have a responsibility to ensure that the University complies with all aspects of relevant legislation
The University could receive a civil penalty if found to be in breach of this legislation
Allows the University to retain our sponsor licence which allows us to sponsor non-EEA nationals.
Avoidance of damage to the University’s reputation, through publication on UK Border Agency (UKBA) website and in local and national press
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

8. Key Legislation
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (sections 15-25) set out the law on the prevention of illegal working
These provisions came into force on 29 February 2008
Without an ‘excuse’ the University may be liable to pay a civil penalty of up to £10,000 per illegal worker
Possible deportation of the illegal worker
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

9. Five steps to completing eligibility to work checks
Invite candidates to interview/selection test
Check documents of all interviewees
Copy the interviewees’ documents
Attach the copied documents to the Request to Appoint (RTA) through e-Recruitment
Destroy paperwork copied for unsuccessful candidates
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

10. Five steps to completing eligibility to work checks
Invite candidates to interview/selection tests.
Using the template in e-Recruitment to write to candidates to invite them to interview
Confirm the documents applicants will bring with them to interview
Ensure you have the relevant checklist ready
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

11. Five steps to completing eligibility to work checks
2. Check documents of all interviewees
We must check the eligibility of all interview candidates irrespective of nationality or ethnic background
There are two checklists available:
List A for EEA workers
List B for Non EEA Nationals
Always download the latest version of the checklist from the HR website as these will be updated regularly
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

12. Document Combinations
Not all prospective employees will have a passport as proof of eligibility to work
If this is the case use the checklists for alternative document combinations (e.g. full birth certificate & NI number)
If presented with an expired passport check with your HR Team
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

13. Workers from new EEA countries
Workers from Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia are required to register on the Workers registration scheme (WRS)
Workers from Bulgaria and Romania are required to apply for an Accession State Worker Card. There are three different types, applicants wishing to work in the UK must present a card which allows them to do the work in question before they are able to start work.
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

14. Non EEA Nationals
Non-EEA citizens require a visa to live and work in the UK. Below are some examples.
This is an example of a residence permit
This Is an example of an identity card for a foreign national, these are credit card size and are separate to the individuals passport
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

15. Non EEA Nationals
Different visas carry different rights to work. Under the current Points Based System (PBS) visas are grouped into numbered tiers
Some of the more common visas and their working conditions are listed below:
Tier 1 (General)
This visa gives full working rights allowing the holder to work for any UK
employer
Tier 1 (Post Study Work)
This visa gives full working rights allowing the holder to work for
any UK employer
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

16. Non EEA Nationals Tier 2 (General) Tier 3
Holder can work for a specific employer in a specific job
Tier 3
This Tier is for lower skilled non EEA migrants (currently suspended)
Tier 5 (Government Authorised Exchange)
This Tier is used to share knowledge, experience and best practice. Used by Universities to bring sponsored researchers to the UK
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

17. Employing Students
Under the Points Based System student visas come under Tier 4
Students can work up to twenty hours per week during term time
Outside term time students can work full time hours

18. Non EEA nationals
As well as visas under the points based system there are some visas which are not covered by these rules
Dependants visa
These are issued to family members of non EEA nationals
Indefinite Leave to Remain
After a qualifying period non EEA nationals may become eligible to stay in the
UK indefinitely
These are a few of the more common types of visa, if you are unsure on the working rights of the individual check with HR
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

19. Five steps to completing eligibility to work checks
3. Copy the interviewees’ documents
There are several different parts of a passport that you must copy:
Front cover, remembering to remove the passport from a protective holder if necessary
Personal details page
For non EEA Nationals their current visa and any relevant UK visas previously issued
Expiry date page
Where applicants don’t supply passports ensure that you copy documents such as national insurance numbers and full birth certificates
The checklists provide further details of the documents to copy and the combinations of documents applicants can use
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

20. Five steps to completing eligibility to work checks
4. Attach the copied documents to the RTA through e-Recruitment
Once the successful applicant has been selected and they have accepted your offer of appointment attach the copied documents to the RTA in e-Recruitment
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

21. Five steps to completing eligibility to work checks
5. Destroy the unsuccessful applicants copied documents
Once the successful applicant has accepted the offer of appointment you will need to destroy the other candidates copied documents securely. Treat this as highly confidential material when both storing and disposing of it.
This ensures that personal information is not held by the University longer than necessary.
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

22. Completing eligibility to work checks
If you are interviewing a candidate who is based overseas via telephone/video link, arrangements must be made before their first day of employment to perform a check
If the correct documents are not forwarded to HR it will be impossible to issue a contract and the individual will not be included on the payroll
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

23. Atypical Workers
Eligibility to work checks are also required for Atypical workers
Before signing the workers registration form you must first carry out a satisfactory ETW check
Documents must be checked, photocopied and retained
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

24. Our Responsibilities
The University must conduct annual checks for employees who are on time-limited visas
Under the terms of our sponsors licence we are required to report start date changes, unauthorised absences, contract changes and leavers
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

25. Further Information HR Faculty contacts
HR Eligibility to Work web pages
UKBA Prevention of Illegal Working web pages
yersandsponsors/preventingillegalworking/
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© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications