Employer Proof of ID request

bikebarbie

Hi
my employer requested a copy of our passport (hard and digital) to comply with Home Office regulations to check employees immigration status.

I have no problem showing my passport however myself and a few colleagues feel uneasy with supplying (hard and digital) copies for security reasons, ie the security and privacy / data protection in our office is a joke.

Do I need to supply a copy (hard and digital) of my passport or just showing it will suffice, legally?
Is viewing it and recording the date, passport number etc etc not good enough?

Many thanks

colino

No if an employer needs to check status he has to keep copies or he will be presumed to be complicit if something goes awry later.

Paully232000

Many interviews I have been to have requested a passport or other form of ID to prove my identity, but have never kept the original just looked at it and photocopied it and handed it back.

Coraline

From my experience you must show proof of right to work in the UK. This involves someone physically examining your passport (and in my case visa), as well as taking a copy/scan of the document for HR's files.

This is NHS policy, I am not sure if it's like this for every employer but many people I know in the UK (whether citizens or not) have had to do the same thing for myriad jobs.

wiggels

This is going on in my work to. I showed them my passport last year and they photocopied it. This week i was asked to take in my marriage certificate as proof of name change, even though i got married 2 and a half years ago and my passport is in my married name. I've also been told today that when anybody goes away, the passport page that is stamped has to be photocopied to. Im not taking my passport in again!

DevCoder

Be lucky they arent asking for a certified copy of a passport and just want to photocopy it.

You are protected by the DPA, any violation will be harshly dealt with by the ICO.

bikebarbie

I obviously wouldnt never give the original to keep and would be unreasonable to ask but beside this I understand and am willing to provide my original passport for verification however where does it say that they legally need to keep hard and/or digital copies? This is my question :question:
I am not talking about employers policies, I am asking about the legal position if there is one? :huh:

bikebarbie

wiggels wrote: »

This is going on in my work to. I showed them my passport last year and they photocopied it. This week i was asked to take in my marriage certificate as proof of name change, even though i got married 2 and a half years ago and my passport is in my married name. I've also been told today that when anybody goes away, the passport page that is stamped has to be photocopied to. Im not taking my passport in again!

I believe that to comply the Home Office, the Employer needs to check employment status annually. I dont have a "problem" with this - I am only uneasy because the HR responsible is very unprofessional, scatty and treats Data Protection as a joke. :mad:

tizerbelle

Yes. Its a legal requirement to see the originals AND take copies - see here

And they have to ask everyone to ensure there is no accusation of racial discrimination

comeandgo

Yes, they need to take copies to show that they have complied with home office rules. I refused to show my marriage certificate to my employer as it was only my name change they wanted and in Scotland the marriage certificate shows a lot more info than that. Luckily my work accepted my new passport which was in my married name.

bikebarbie

tizerbelle wrote: »

Yes. Its a legal requirement to see the originals AND take copies - see here

And they have to ask everyone to ensure there is no accusation of racial discrimination

Thanks that link is very useful. It appears they must take copies.
Case closed Sherlock! :beer: