We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
Proof to work in the UK documents
supersaver2
Posts: 977 Forumite
Afternoon,
I’ve been asked today for documents to prove I can legally work in the UK.
Looking at the list I’m struggling a bit. I don’t have a passport, I have a full birth certificate but apparently you have to provide your NI number using official government documents which I don’t have or from a previous employer. I’ve worked at my current employers for 14 years and don’t keep paperwork from 14+ years ago!
What else can I provide? Don’t get any benefits so have nothing official from any government agency.
Apparently work are tightening up on paperwork which is fine but seems a bit late to start asking 14 years in!
Thank you:
I’ve been asked today for documents to prove I can legally work in the UK.
Looking at the list I’m struggling a bit. I don’t have a passport, I have a full birth certificate but apparently you have to provide your NI number using official government documents which I don’t have or from a previous employer. I’ve worked at my current employers for 14 years and don’t keep paperwork from 14+ years ago!
What else can I provide? Don’t get any benefits so have nothing official from any government agency.
Apparently work are tightening up on paperwork which is fine but seems a bit late to start asking 14 years in!
Thank you:
0
Comments
-
supersaver2 wrote: »Afternoon,
I’ve been asked today for documents to prove I can legally work in the UK.
Looking at the list I’m struggling a bit. I don’t have a passport, I have a full birth certificate but apparently you have to provide your NI number using official government documents which I don’t have or from a previous employer. I’ve worked at my current employers for 14 years and don’t keep paperwork from 14+ years ago!
What else can I provide? Don’t get any benefits so have nothing official from any government agency.
Apparently work are tightening up on paperwork which is fine but seems a bit late to start asking 14 years in!
Thank you:
I would suggest you ask them for your last payslip and then give it straight back - since that has your NI number on it.0 -
-
-
Can you write off for a pensions forecast?
Thank you, I’ll try that. Looks like it can be filled out online and printed which is good because it’s needed for Monday apparently and no way will anything arrive on Monday with the current time of year.0 -
Ah, I don't think you'll get anything by Monday - you fill in the form and post it off, then they send back the forecast ... but it takes time.supersaver2 wrote: »Thank you, I’ll try that. Looks like it can be filled out online and printed which is good because it’s needed for Monday apparently and no way will anything arrive on Monday with the current time of year.
BTW, a UK passport doesn't have to be current - have you never had one?
I think you need to front it out with them. You have applied for documentation showing your NINo, but you do not currently have anything more than your full birth certificate.
Have you had anything at all from HMRC like a change of tax code?
Have you ever registered on the Government Gateway? If not, you could do so now and they'll send you something for gaining access which I'm hoping would have your NINo on.
Are you in the age range of those who were sent an plastic card with your NINo on? I'm too old and I'd have lost it by now anyway, my boys had them but I don't think they're being issued any more.
How much notice of this have they given you? this legislation has been in place for a number of years, so should not have taken them by surprise now ...Signature removed for peace of mind0 -
Thanks for the post. They asked me this morning!
Yes I’ve had a passport but shredded it a few years ago when it expire and had no reason to get another.
Nope never had anything about a change of tax code, have one of those documents that shows where your contributions go but that doesn’t have my NI on it.
I did just create a government gateway account and it does have a download that can be printed out which shows your NI, yet in bold it says it isn’t a proof to work in the UK document! Yet it shows my name, address and NI number. I’ve printed it and hopefully that with my birth certificate is enough evidence.0 -
I'm all for new employees proving they have the right to work in the UK (well I think I am) but this sounds bonkers!
OP - you've worked for the same employer for 14 years and they are asking you now? I would have thought that after 14 years you've acquired the right anyway (although I'm probably wrong there).
If you have none of the documents they will accept as proof, you may find yourself in a Catch 22. You may be able to provide what you consider proof, but how do you establish that that information relates to you as an individual and not someone else?
There was a similar thread a few weeks ago. I don't recall the details, but I think it was from a married woman who stopped working some years ago. I think when she married she had kept her maiden name while still working. After stopping working she adopted her husband's name. Upon deciding to go back to work she couldn't (apparently) prove who she was. She had no passport and employer could not accept her birth certificate and marriage certificate together as proof of identity. (Apologies if I've not remembered that correctly and am completely wrong!).
I don't know if it was resolved sensibly or not. Others may remember it.
If you've worked there for 14 years you must be in a better position than she was.
EDIT; Don't know how to link to the other thread but it's the one posted by mandyminx entitled "Not Happy" on 28 September.0 -
That does sound a bizarre situation!
I work for local government and HR has been very lax. I have taken the documents in before when I first started and had my CRB check. Clearly copies weren’t taken or they have been lost.
On the government website it does say a full birth certificate and proof of NI is sufficient. I suppose if they don’t accept what I’ve printed out I’ll have to call and get something more official sent out. Put me in a stressful situation, I was debating getting a passport but seems extreme and expensive when I have no use of one currently!0 -
If they waited 14 years to ask, I'm sure they can wait a little longer until you get your proof of NI through.0
-
I'm afraid you're wrong, and even if you were right you can't necessarily trust the Home Office to get it right. There have been several cases highlighted in the Guardian lately where elderly people who arrived in the UK as children, in some cases without a passport (which tells you how long ago it was!) are being deported back their country of birth because they cannot prove that they've been here all this time and thus arrived before certain changes to immigration law. They do have the right to be here, but they cannot prove it.Manxman_in_exile wrote: »OP - you've worked for the same employer for 14 years and they are asking you now? I would have thought that after 14 years you've acquired the right anyway (although I'm probably wrong there).
To be fair, copies of the documentation used for your CRB check shouldn't really be kept on file. But the fact that you've taken documents in - including that passport? - would IMO go in your favour. You could even ask them to double check their records and make sure your proof of RTW hasn't been put in the wrong place in your HR file!supersaver2 wrote: »I work for local government and HR has been very lax. I have taken the documents in before when I first started and had my CRB check. Clearly copies weren’t taken or they have been lost.
I'd print it out and not draw attention to what it is. If they don't like it, they'll have to wait a little longer.supersaver2 wrote: »On the government website it does say a full birth certificate and proof of NI is sufficient. I suppose if they don’t accept what I’ve printed out I’ll have to call and get something more official sent out.
I'm not at all surprised they've given a very tight deadline for providing proof. We all know how this goes: well I do anyway. I say to someone "I need to see the following documents so that I can ... enrol you into the pension (in the days before auto-enrolment) / add you to the payroll / carry out your DBS check." They say "oh yes I'll bring them in tomorrow."If they waited 14 years to ask, I'm sure they can wait a little longer until you get your proof of NI through.
Tomorrow I say "Have you got your ..." and they say "Oh no, I knew there was something I needed to bring in" and so it goes on.
We now ask for passports at the interview stage, but there I've had the response of "I'm in the process of moving house and all my documents were in the boot of my car and it was stolen". At least then there's a couple of weeks' grace to get replacements while we take up references, but the bottom line is that if we haven't seen proof of RTW, we can't add to the payroll. There are hefty fines if an employer is caught without being able to show proof of RTW.
Now, I wouldn't have said that local government was especially likely to make a habit of employing illegal immigrants - but it is possible that there's been some kind of audit which has thrown up the fact that RTW checks have not been happening, or maybe something has happened, or maybe someone in HR just reads the Guardian and thought this should be checked thoroughly.
So, take in what you've got, and if that's not good enough, play for time.Signature removed for peace of mind0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.3K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.3K Spending & Discounts
- 247K Work, Benefits & Business
- 603.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.3K Life & Family
- 261.2K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards