Explanatory notes for job candidates
It is a requirement of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 that all employers in the United Kingdom take steps to ensure that all new employees are eligible to take up the employment for which they have applied.
Under Section 8 of the Act, an employer is guilty of a criminal offence if he or she employs a person aged 16 or over who is subject to immigration control unless that person has been given valid and subsisting leave to be in the United Kingdom by the Government, and that leave does not restrict them from taking the job in question, or the person comes into a category where employment is also allowed.
The Act provides the employer with a statutory defence if the employer can prove that, before the employment began, he or she checked and recorded certain documents, as specified by the Home Secretary, belonging to every potential employee.
The Council is an equal opportunities employer and, in order to comply with our own employment policies and the Race Relations Act, it is our policy to treat all applicants equally in complying with the Asylum and Immigration Act. Consequently, all external applicants are asked to bring to their interview;
- either one of the original documents included in List 1 or
- two of the original documents in the combinations given in List 2
A copy of the document(s) you provide will be taken at your interview, and the original returned to you. If you are unsuccessful in your application, the copy of the document/s held by the Council will be destroyed six months after the date of your interview.
If you have any queries about a document that you need to bring to your interview, please telephone Human Resources on 01295 221758.
List 1
Please provide one original document from the following list:
- A passport showing that the holder is a British Citizen, or has the right to abode in the United Kingdom.
- A document showing that the holder is a national of a European Economic Area country or Switzerland. This must be a national passport or national identity card.
- A residence permit issued by the Home Office to a national from European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
- A passport or other document issued by the Home Office which has an endorsement stating that the holder has a current right of residence in the United Kingdom as the family member of a national from a European Economic Area country or Switzerland who is a resident in the United Kingdom.
- A passport or other travel document endorsed to show that the holder can stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, or has no time limit on their stay.
- A passport or other travel document endorsed to show that the holder can stay in the United Kingdom; and that this endorsement allows the holder to do the type of work you are offering if they do not have a work permit.
- An Application Registration Card issued by the Home Office to an asylum seeker stating that the holder is permitted to take employment.
If you are able to provide one document from List 1, you are not required to provide any other documents as contained in List 2.
List 2
If you are unable to provide one document from List 1, please provide two original documents in the combinations given below:
A/ Document giving your permanent National Insurance Number and name. This could be a:
- P45
- P60
- National Insurance card, or
- a letter from a government agency.
Along with a document showing your National Insurance number, you must also provide one of the following documents listed at B-H:
B/ a full birth certificate issued in the United Kingdom, which includes the names of the holder’s parents; or
C/ a birth certificate issued in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Ireland; or
D/ a certificate of registration or naturalisation stating that the holder is a British citizen; or
E/ a letter issued by the Home Office to the holder which indicates that the person named in it can stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, or has no time limit on their stay; or
F/ an Immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office to the holder with an endorsement indicating that the person named in it can stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, or has no time limit on their stay; or
G/ a letter issued by the Home Office to the holder which indicates that the person named in it can stay in the United Kingdom, and this allows them to do the type of work on being offered; or
H/ an Immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office to the holder with an endorsement indicating that the person named in it can stay in the United Kingdom, and this allows them to do the type of work being offered
Or second combination:
A/ A work permit or other approval to take up employment that has been issued by Work Permits UK.
Along with a document issued by Work Permits UK, you should also provide one of the following documents listed at B-C:
B/ a passport or other travel document endorsed to show that the holder is able to stay in the United Kingdom and can take the work permit employment in question; or
C/ a letter issued by the Home Office to the holder confirming that the person named in it is able to stay in the United Kingdom and can take the work permit employment in question.
What cannot be accepted
The following documents cannot be accepted in any combination:
- A Home Office Standard Acknowledgement Letter or Immigration Service Letter (IS96W) which states that an asylum seeker can work in the United Kingdom;
- A letter issued by the Home Office stating that the Holder is a British Citizen;
- A passport describing the holder as a British Dependent Territories Citizen which states that the holder has a connection with Gibraltar;
- A short birth certificate issued in the United Kingdom which does not have details of one of the holder’s parents;
- A card or certificate issued by the Inland Revenue under the Construction Industry Scheme;
- A temporary National Insurance Number beginning with TN, or any number which ends in the letters from E to Z inclusive;
- A driving licence issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency;
- A bill issued by a financial institution or a utility company.