The hidden trap in digital right-to-work checks 

What looks like a modern, comprehensive approach to right-to-work compliance is actually exposing businesses to significant penalties due to critical limitations in digital verification services that many employers don't understand. With fines reaching £60,000 per illegal worker and enforcement visits up 40% in the past 18 months, getting this wrong could cripple your business. 

The Digital Verification Pitfall 

Many companies have embraced Digital Verification Services (DVS) as a modern, efficient way to handle right-to-work checks. The appeal is obvious - streamlined processes, reduced admin burden, and what appears to be comprehensive compliance coverage. However, there's a critical limitation that even some large household names have missed. 

DVS checks are currently only acceptable for holders of valid British and Irish passports (or Irish passport cards), and therefore their use is limited. Using these services for foreign nationals, no matter how sophisticated the technology, provides no statutory excuse if that employee is later found to be working illegally. 

Think of it like wearing a high-tech safety harness that only works on certain types of scaffolding. It might look comprehensive, but in the wrong situation, it offers no protection at all. 

The Real-world impact 

From July 2024 to March 2025, the Home Office issued 1,508 civil penalty notices for illegal working, with over £30 million in fines issued since late 2023. The consequences extend far beyond financial penalties. When illegal working is discovered, businesses face: 

• Civil penalties up to £60,000 per illegal worker 

• Public naming and shaming by the Home Office 

• Potential loss of sponsor licence 

• Cancellation of all sponsored worker visas 

• Severe reputational damage 

For many businesses operating on tighter margins than large corporates, a single significant penalty could threaten the business's survival. The financial impact is stark: businesses are facing penalties of £45,000 and higher for compliance failures, sums that could force many SMEs to close permanently. 

While large corporations might absorb these penalties as a cost of doing business (though none would want to), smaller employers face disproportionate risks. Smaller teams often wear multiple hats, with HR responsibilities shared between founders, office managers, and part-time specialists. This distributed responsibility can create blind spots in compliance processes. 

Understanding the Compliance Framework 

The statutory excuse system works like an insurance policy, but only if you follow the exact terms. For right-to-work checks, you have three options: 

• Manual checks - Traditional document verification for a limited number of visas
• DVS checks - Only for British and Irish passport holders 
• Home Office online checks - For non-British and non-Irish citizens 

The type of check you conduct depends on the individual's nationality and immigration status. Getting this wrong doesn't just mean you've wasted time on the wrong process, it means you have no defence if that employee is later found to be working illegally. 

Risk without obvious warning 

What makes right-to-work compliance particularly tricky is that the risks often lie dormant. An employee may have been working for years without issue, only for something to trigger a Home Office investigation; a sponsor licence renewal, a complaint, or a spot check. At that point, the only thing that matters is whether the business has done what it should at the outset. 

It’s not about catching people out; it’s about having the right systems, training, and documentation in place and being able to demonstrate that if required. Even where checks were carried out in good faith, if the process wasn’t compliant with the rules at the time, the ‘statutory excuse’ may not apply. 

This is why some businesses are starting to treat right-to-work compliance not just as an HR task, but as a legal risk area. Lawyers are helping companies to map out their current approach, tighten up weak spots, and make sure that what’s happening in practice reflects what the Home Office expects. Sometimes that’s a simple process review. At other times, it means introducing checks and balances, designing templates, or sense-checking the way digital systems are being used. 

A small step, a big safeguard 

In many cases, employers don’t realise they’ve made a mistake until it’s too late. And because the statutory excuse is only available if you’ve met the requirements in full, it’s not something you can fix after the fact. 

That’s why getting it right from day one is so important. Right to work checks may not be the most exciting part of running a business, but they’re one of the simplest and most effective ways to protect yourself from serious consequences. In the current climate, with immigration policy under review, penalties increasing, and enforcement activity rising, it’s a risk no business can afford to ignore. 

If you haven't revisited your right to work processes in the last 12 months, it may be time to do so. A small amount of support and insight from our business immigration solicitors now can save you a great deal of trouble later.