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EU workers who arrived in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 can apply for settled, or pre-settled status.

Here’s the need to know detail on how the scheme operates in practice.

Deadline – EU workers who arrived in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 have up until 30 June 2021 to make their applications for settled or pre-settled status.

Settled status – EU workers who have lived lawfully and continuously in the UK for five years or more (prior to 31 December 2020) can apply for settled status.

Pre-settled status – EU workers who have lived in the UK for less than five years (prior to 31 December) can apply for pre-settled status. Pre-settled status allows those workers to remain living and working in the UK until they acquire five years’ continuous residence. They can then apply for settled status.

Right to work checks – prior to 30 June 2021, as an employer you should not require proof from EU workers that they’ve applied for settled or pre-settled status (see our last update).

Checking status after 30 June 2021 – you can access EU workers’ online record (here) to check their immigration status. To do so the employee will need to request a single-use code (via text or email) which they’ll then be able to share with you to allow to access their record.

Failure to obtain the necessary status – if an EU worker’s application is rejected, or they fail to apply in time, they will lose the right to live and work in the UK. Always take advice from us before dismissing an employee on this basis.

We’re including a comprehensive Brexit FAQs (and additional supporting documents) on our Intelligent Employment platform this week to guide you through the employment law implications of Brexit. If you don’t already have access to Intelligent Employment, get in touch to find out more.

You still need to carry out right to work checks for all EU workers before employing them.

Employing workers illegally can result in civil penalties (up to £20,000 per employee) along with the potential for criminal sanctions, so ensuring you have a process in place to establish employees’ right to work is essential.

How you carry out right to work checks will depend on whether you’re carrying out the checks before or after 30th June 2021.

1st January to 30th June 2021

If you’re carrying out a right to work check on or before 30th June 2021, you can still rely on an EU worker’s passport or ID card as a valid right to work in the UK.

You have a duty not to discriminate against EU workers and cannot require them to show whether they have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme during this period.

1st July 2021 onwards

From this date you’ll:

1. no longer be able to accept passports or ID cards as evidence of right to work for EU workers;
2. need proof of immigration status from either the EU Settlement Scheme or the new immigration system.

Immigration status will be recorded electronically and employers can access the online record here. You’ll need the employee’s date of birth and a single-use code (requested by the employee directly) to access the information.

We’re including a comprehensive Brexit FAQs (and additional supporting documents) on our Intelligent Employment platform to guide you through the employment law implications of Brexit. If you don’t already have access to Intelligent Employment, get in touch to find out more.