Right to Work Checks and Share Codes: What UK Employers Must Do and Why It Matters

Every employer in the United Kingdom is required to check that a person has the right to work before employing them. It is a small administrative step that quietly determines a great deal: who can be hired, why certain job offers evaporate, and why an employer who is casual about it is an employer to avoid.

This article explains how the check works, what you need to provide, and what it tells you about an employer.

It is general information, not immigration or legal advice. Verify the current position on the official UK government website.

What the check is

UK employers must establish that someone has the right to undertake the work in question, before employment begins. Doing so correctly gives the employer a statutory defence against penalties for employing someone who does not have that right.

Two consequences follow immediately.

Every legitimate employer will do it. Not as a formality, and not later. Before you start.

An employer who skips it is telling you something. Either they are disorganised, or they are knowingly employing people without the right to work — and an employer in that position is not one who pays properly, respects hours, or can be complained to safely.

How it is done

Checks are carried out either by examining original documents or, for most people with an immigration status held digitally, by using an online check.

For the online route, the individual generates a share code through the official government service and provides it to the employer, along with their date of birth. The employer uses it to view the person right to work and takes a copy of the result.

Share codes are time-limited and are generated for a specific purpose, so you may need to generate a new one for a new employer.

The practical instruction is straightforward: know how to generate your share code, and generate it yourself through the official service rather than through anyone else.

What a check shows an employer

This is worth understanding because candidates are sometimes surprised.

The check confirms whether you have the right to work and, importantly, any conditions attached — including restrictions on the type of work and, for students, limits on hours.

So an employer can see that a student is limited to a certain number of hours during term time. Any suggestion that these limits are invisible, or that everyone works more, is false, and following that advice puts your status at risk while giving the employer deniability.

What you will be asked for

Depending on your status, expect to provide either a share code, or original documents evidencing your right to work, or both in some circumstances.

Alongside that, an employer will typically need your National Insurance number for payroll, your bank details for wages, and your address.

Two cautions. Provide documents to the employer, not to an intermediary who has not been identified. And be alert to the difference between an employer taking a copy of a document — normal — and an employer retaining your original passport, which is not something you should accept.

What this means for job hunting from overseas

Here is where the right to work check explains something that confuses a great many applicants.

A UK employer advertising a warehouse, hospitality or retail role is recruiting from people who already have the right to work — citizens, settled residents, people on visas with work rights, students within their permitted hours. The advertisement is genuine. It simply is not open to someone in India with no right to work in the UK.

That is not a technicality. It is the whole reason those advertisements exist and cannot help you, and it is why sponsorship — a licensed employer assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship for an eligible occupation — is the only route by which most overseas candidates obtain the right to work in the first place.

Discrimination, and knowing your position

Employers must carry out checks in a way that does not discriminate. It is not lawful to check only people who appear foreign, or to refuse to consider someone simply because their status is held digitally rather than on paper.

If you have the right to work and are being treated differently in a way that seems to be based on your nationality or appearance rather than your actual status, that is a matter you can raise. The employment conciliation service provides free advice on rights of this kind.

The fraud attached to this subject

Three patterns to recognise.

Offers of documents. Anyone offering to supply documents, a share code, or a status you do not hold is offering you a criminal problem rather than a job.

Employers who suggest you do not need a check. This is not generosity. It marks an employer operating outside the rules, and it is the beginning of an exploitative relationship, because a worker without a proper arrangement cannot safely complain about anything.

Requests for money to arrange a check. A right to work check costs the candidate nothing. Employers may use official services; you are not asked to pay for the privilege of being checked.

If you are working, what to keep

Keep your own copies of what you provided and when. Keep your contract, your payslips and your bank statements showing wages received.

If a question ever arises about your employment — a dispute about pay, a query about status, an issue with a former employer — the person with the documents is in a completely different position from the person relying on memory.

Frequently asked questions

What is a share code? A code you generate through the official government service that allows an employer to view your right to work online. It is time-limited.

Do I have to pay for a check? No. Right to work checking costs the candidate nothing.

Can an employer see my hour limits? Yes, where conditions apply, such as student work limits. They are visible in the check.

Can an employer keep my passport? Taking a copy is normal. Retaining your original document is not something to accept.

What if an employer says a check is unnecessary? Treat it as a serious warning sign about that employer rather than as a convenience.

Official sources

• GOV.UK — Prove your right to work — Generate a share code through the official service
• GOV.UK — Right to work checks — How employers are required to check
• GOV.UK — Skilled Worker visa — How sponsored workers obtain the right to work
• Acas — Free advice on employment rights and discrimination
• High Commission of India, London — Assistance for Indian nationals in the UK
• Find a job — The UK government job search service

The National Insurance number, and how it fits

Alongside the right to work check, the other piece of administration every new worker in the UK encounters is the National Insurance number. It is frequently misunderstood, so it is worth separating clearly from the right to work question.

A National Insurance number is a personal reference used for tax and social security records. It is not permission to work, and having one does not give you the right to work. Equally, not yet having one does not prevent you from starting work if you do have the right — an employer can operate payroll while an application is in progress, and there is an official process for applying.

Three practical points. Apply through the official government service rather than through anyone who offers to obtain one for a fee — it is free. Keep the number safe and do not share it casually, because it is used in identity fraud. And use the same number consistently across employers, so that your record is not fragmented.

If someone offers to sell you a National Insurance number, or to arrange one alongside “papers”, they are offering identity fraud rather than administrative help.

What the paperwork tells you about an employer

Taken together, the administrative steps at the start of a job are a surprisingly reliable signal of what the employer will be like once you are working there.

A well-run employer carries out the right to work check before you start, gives you a written statement of your terms, puts you on payroll properly with payslips showing deductions, enrols you in a workplace pension where you qualify, and can answer questions about your hours and holiday without hesitation.

A poorly run one is vague about the check, pays in cash or without payslips, has no written terms, describes your holiday entitlement as something to sort out later, and becomes irritated when asked.

The second pattern rarely improves. An employer that cuts corners on the parts that are visible and easily checked is not usually meticulous about the parts that are not, and a worker who accepts an informal arrangement at the start has almost no position when something goes wrong later.

You are entitled to ask about all of it before you begin, and the answers you get are worth more than the salary figure in judging whether to accept.

Common mistakes at the check stage

A few avoidable errors cause most of the friction, and all of them are easy to prevent.

Generating a share code too early. They are time-limited. Generate one when an employer asks, not weeks in advance, and generate a fresh one for each employer that needs it.

Giving the code without the date of birth. The employer needs both to complete the check, and a delay here can hold up a start date.

Name mismatches. If the name on your immigration record differs from the name on your bank account or your qualifications, expect questions. Consistency across documents prevents a great deal of difficulty.

Assuming a previous employer check carries over. Each employer must carry out its own check.

Letting an agent handle it. Generate your own code through the official service and give it to the employer yourself. An intermediary sitting between you and your own immigration record is an unnecessary risk.

The useful conclusion

The right to work check is why UK job advertisements you can see are frequently not open to you, and why an employer who waves it away is an employer to walk away from. Generate your own share code through the official service, provide it to the employer, keep your own records, and never accept an arrangement that skips the check.

Disclaimer: This article is general career information only. It is not a job advertisement, not a recruitment notice, and not affiliated with any employer or government body. It is not immigration or legal advice. UK immigration and employment rules change frequently and are applied case by case, so always verify the current position on the official UK government website before acting. Salary figures quoted anywhere online are indicative of what is commonly advertised and are not guaranteed. Only a signed contract of employment binds anyone. Never pay money to get a job.