Right to Work Expiry Follow-Up: Re-Check Permits in Time

A right to work expiry follow-up is a second check, run before a worker's time-limited permission ends, that confirms the person can still work for you. In the UK the statutory excuse against a civil penalty lasts only until the permission end date, so an employer who does not re-check in time loses protection on the day after expiry, even if the first check was perfect.

This article covers the UK position as of October 2026. It describes what a follow-up check compares: dates, status and conditions against official sources. It does not claim that a check proves a document is genuine.

When is a follow-up right to work check required?

A follow-up check is required whenever the worker's permission to work has an end date. The Home Office employer's guide to right to work checks says the excuse for a time-limited worker runs to the expiry of that permission, and a new check must be done before it ends to keep the excuse going.

Where permission is time-limited, the follow-up check must be completed before the end date shown on the original check result, not after it (GOV.UK, right to work checks: employer's guide). Only workers with unlimited permission are exempt.

What changed with eVisas and the end of the BRP?

Physical Biometric Residence Permits stopped being acceptable evidence for most workers after 31 December 2024, and the online check replaced them. This matters for follow-up because the date printed on an old card often differs from the real end date of leave. A BRP showing 31 December 2024 does not mean permission ended that day.

The reliable source is the online result from the GOV.UK right to work service. It shows the true end date and the conditions. Record that date, not the card's. If your file still holds a scan of a BRP as the only evidence, treat the record as incomplete and ask for a share code.

How do you run the follow-up check step by step?

You run the same check as the first time: the worker generates a fresh share code, you check the result online, you compare it with the person in front of you, and you save a dated copy. The earlier check does not carry over.

1. Pull the list of permissions ending in the next 90 days.
2. Ask the worker to generate a new share code for a right to work check. Codes are valid for 90 days from generation.
3. Run the check online and confirm the name and photo match the person.
4. Read the conditions line: hours, employer or sector limits may have changed with the new leave.
5. Save a dated copy of the result and note who ran the check.
6. Diary the new end date.

Do not wait for the worker to come forward. A worker who has applied to extend may not know their employer's excuse is about to lapse, and some are unwilling to raise it.

What if the worker has applied to extend but has no decision yet?

If the worker applied before their leave ended and the Home Office has not decided, the employer cannot rely on the old permission or on the worker's say-so. The route is the Employer Checking Service, which can issue a Positive Verification Notice. That notice gives a statutory excuse for six months, and you must diary a new follow-up check before it ends.

Where the worker has made an in-time application and holds evidence of it, the online check may itself show that leave continues while the application is pending. Read the result rather than assuming. If neither route confirms the right to work, the worker cannot lawfully continue after the end date.

What does a missed follow-up cost?

Employing someone without the right to work carries a civil penalty of up to £45,000 per worker for a first breach and up to £60,000 for repeat breaches, in force since 13 February 2024 (Home Office, illegal working penalties). Knowingly employing an illegal worker is a criminal offence under section 21 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

A missed follow-up is a common route into that penalty. The worker was legitimate at hiring, nobody looked at the end date, and the file shows a clean check eleven months old. The excuse expired anyway.

What do HR teams and agencies actually ask about this?

Questions on HR and recruiter forums repeat, and the answers are short.

"The visa expired last week but the worker says they applied to extend. Can they keep working?" Only if you can evidence it through the online check or an Employer Checking Service notice. A verbal assurance does not give you the excuse.

"Do I need to re-check everyone every year?" No. Annual re-checks of everyone are not required and, for British citizens and settled workers, are unnecessary. Re-check only workers with a time-limited end date, before that date. Applying different treatment based on how a person looks or sounds risks a claim under the Equality Act 2010.

"How far ahead should I start?" Ninety days is a sound working window because a share code lasts 90 days and a visa extension can take weeks.

How do you track dates across hundreds of files?

Spreadsheets fail at scale because the end date lives in one place, the contract in another, and the original check result in a third. A workable system has one expiry field per worker, populated from the check result, with reminders at 90, 60 and 14 days.

A validation run adds consistency. Our platform compares the same field, such as full legal name and date of birth, against every document in the file at once, so a reviewer sees which field differs instead of re-reading each page. For expiry, a check flags documents whose end date falls inside a chosen window, so the follow-up list builds itself. For the initial check, see our guide on work permit checks for temporary workers, and for the wider employer duties read the right to work employer compliance guide.

Keep the check result, the date you ran it and the checker's name for the duration of the employment and two years after it ends, and restrict access under the UK GDPR, since immigration status is sensitive in practice. The industry verification pillar guide places this in the wider picture.

Follow-up checklist

• One expiry date per worker, taken from the latest online result
• Reminders at 90, 60 and 14 days
• Fresh share code each time, never a stored one
• Conditions line re-read against current hours and role
• Dated copy saved after every check
• Escalation owner named for workers with no confirmed renewal
• Suspension or end-of-engagement step ready if permission lapses

Agencies and HR teams managing many time-limited workers can use CheckFile's temporary staffing solution to validate completeness, expiry dates and cross-document consistency in one pass. Our security page explains how data is handled and pricing lists volume plans.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the Home Office or qualified counsel. Reviewed by the CheckFile editorial team, 12 October 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the statutory excuse end automatically when permission expires?

Yes. The excuse from an earlier check runs only to the end of the permission recorded at that check. After that date you need a new check or a Positive Verification Notice to keep it.

How long before expiry should the follow-up check happen?

Any time before the end date works legally, but 30 to 90 days ahead is practical. It leaves time for a share code, a renewal in progress and a plan if permission is not extended.

Do I need to follow up on pre-settled status?

Yes. Pre-settled status has an expiry date, so it is time-limited. Settled status has none and needs no follow-up.

What if the worker cannot show renewed permission?

You must stop employing them from the end date or accept the risk of the civil penalty. Record the steps you took, and take advice before ending a contract.

What records should I keep from each follow-up check?

Keep the dated result, the checker's name and a copy of the document used. Hold them for the duration of employment and two years afterwards.