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Right to Work Checks for Security Operatives

Updated May 2026 — Covers the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 and subsequent amendments

Security employers have the same statutory duty as any other employer to check that every worker has the right to work in the UK before they begin employment. In the security sector, this duty overlaps with the SIA's own checks — the SIA will not issue a licence to someone without the right to work — but the employer's duty is independent. An SIA licence does not substitute for a right to work check, and relying on one is not a statutory defence.

The legal framework

Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, employers must not employ a person who does not have the right to work in the UK. A civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker applies to employers who fail to carry out the required checks. Criminal liability may arise where the employer knew the worker was illegal.

The right to work check provides a statutory excuse against the civil penalty. To rely on the excuse, the check must be carried out correctly and the evidence retained.

List A and List B documents

The Home Office divides right to work documents into two lists:

• List A documents — establish an ongoing right to work with no time limit. Check is carried out once and does not need to be repeated. Examples include a British or Irish passport, a biometric residence permit with indefinite leave to remain, or confirmation of settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
• List B documents — establish a time-limited right to work. Repeat checks must be carried out before the time-limited permission expires, typically every 12 months. Examples include biometric residence permits with limited leave to remain or visas with limited validity.

Carrying out the check

For most documents, the employer must:

1. Obtain the original document from the worker
2. Check the document is genuine, has not expired, and the photograph matches the worker
3. Make a copy and retain it, along with a record of the date the check was carried out

For workers with biometric residence permits or digital immigration status (including EU Settlement Scheme holders), the check must be carried out online via the Home Office employer checking service. The worker's Home Office reference number or share code is required.

Repeat checks for List B workers

If a worker's right to work is time-limited, the employer must carry out a repeat check before the limited leave expires. If the worker's permission has expired and no repeat check has been carried out, the statutory excuse is lost — and the employer faces the civil penalty as if no check had been carried out at all.

For security companies with a mobile workforce and high staff turnover, tracking which workers have time-limited permissions and when repeat checks are due is a significant administrative challenge.