Employment law - N.I. no. passport or birth certificate question

kittykat500

My 19 yr old son has been working in a major high street shop for about 14 months now. His employer rang me today to say that they no longer had valid passport details on file; his passport ran out in July, and they needed either a renewed passport or a copy of his birth certificate.

Someone please tell me what this is all about! He has a national insurance no. and they employed him with a valid British passport which he's had for 10 years. He was born in Sutton and I don't understand why I have to get a duplicate birth certificate to give to his employer when these checks were made when he entered employment with them.

In my experience working in a College I have only ever been asked for my N.I. no.

Any advice gratefully received.

the

This does seem a bit bazaar,

I can only imagine that they want some form of proof of his eligibility to work in the uk, which obviously they have from his old passport and NI number.

What I would suggest is to ask them , for what purpose they require this.

DCFC79

Why did they not speak to your son about it

fengirl_2

Under the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, employers are required to check that all workers are allowed to work in the UK. (Remember the recent trouble Baroness Scotland got into?)
As your son originally produced a document which has now run out of date, he has to again prove his eligibility. His birth cert would do that once and for all, but other acceptable documents are here:
http://www.na-recruitment.com/downloads/Eligibility_to_Work_in_UK.pdf

liney

A British person is not required to have an in date passport; you can take a copy of an out of date British passport one as long as you are sure that ID does indeed belong to the applicant. Persons who require a visa must have a valid passport though.

I think the employers have misunderstood the legislation.

hothothot_3

kittykat500 wrote: »

My 19 yr old son has been working in a major high street shop for about 14 months now. His employer rang me today to say that they no longer had valid passport details on file; his passport ran out in July, and they needed either a renewed passport or a copy of his birth certificate.

Someone please tell me what this is all about! He has a national insurance no. and they employed him with a valid British passport which he's had for 10 years. He was born in Sutton and I don't understand why I have to get a duplicate birth certificate to give to his employer when these checks were made when he entered employment with them.

In my experience working in a College I have only ever been asked for my N.I. no.

Any advice gratefully received.

From 2007 the law has been amended which has tightened up the requirements of what employers must do to validate that employees are legally entitled to work for them, if not there is 10,000 fine per person found illegally working aswell as possible prison sentences. Part of the new rules is that the employer has to show that

*expiry dates have not lapsed

which is one of the requirements of the new system. Relevant legislation is below:

The Immigration (Restrictions on Employment) Order 2007 (SI 2007/3290)

DVardysShadow

hothothot wrote: »

From 2007 the law has been amended which has tightened up the requirements of what employers must do to validate that employees are legally entitled to work for them, if not there is 10,000 fine per person found illegally working aswell as possible prison sentences. Part of the new rules is that the employer has to show that

*expiry dates have not lapsed

which is one of the requirements of the new system. Relevant legislation is below:

The Immigration (Restrictions on Employment) Order 2007 (SI 2007/3290)

Full marks for identifying relevant legislation, but very little more than No Marks for applying it. As UK citizens are not required to have passports and as the expiry of a passport does not mean that a UK citizen loses the right to work, this Order might not be relevant, unless we establish that the OP's son is working with a permit rather than as a citizen.

anteater

His employer has got it's wires crossed. Although employers have to check eligibility to work - and a passport one of several documents that establishes eligibility - if the document proves that the employee has a permanent right to work in the UK, there is no requirement to carry out checks thereafter. So it shouldn't matter if a passport later expires.

However, if the document that is provided indictes that the employee's right is temporary (e.g. a work permit/visa, etc), then the employer has to carry out annual checks to ensure that the employee has valid documentation.

kittykat500

liney wrote: »

A British person is not required to have an in date passport; you can take a copy of an out of date British passport one as long as you are sure that ID does indeed belong to the applicant. Persons who require a visa must have a valid passport though.

I think the employers have misunderstood the legislation.

This is my belief - how can his work status have changed just because his passport is out of date!

liney

kittykat500 wrote: »

This is my belief - how can his work status have changed just because his passport is out of date!

I know this to be true because I have actually called the employers helpline at the Home Office and confirmed that British Passports do not need to be in date. A young man had presented me with one that exprired a couple of months earlier so i needed confirmation.

If they are willing to accept his BC and NI, with his passport out of date what will they insist on to confirm his Identity? His expired passport perhaps?...:rolleyes:These documents (BC and NI) very clearly state that they do not confirm the identity if the holder.

robredz

A potential employer wanted a "Certificate of Naturalisation" as per what an immigrant has on application for citizenship as proof, my birth certificate was not sufficient for them in conjunction with other ID. I think the whole area around right to work is confusing the hell out of employers, along with proof required due to this "Fine and Penalty " obsessed government. My son was also asked for proof of right by his employers even though they saw his birth certificate and other proof 18 months ago.