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Brexit: Evidence of Settled or Pre-settled status

Hi everyone

I've been looking for information on this and haven't seen any updates since February 2020 - I guess this is because we became so consumed with Covid.

I have been trying to understand if HR and people professionals are requesting proof of status from their EU colleagues.  I understand that we should:

  • Ask colleagues their intentions to stay in the UK post-June 2021
  • Ask colleagues if they have applied or plan to apply for either settled or pre-settled status
  • Ask if they require any assistance.

However, what I cannot see is if there is a requirement on the part of the employer to keep evidence of their status and if so what is the evidence that we should store? I know that this will be a requirement when EU nationals join our UK team post December 2020.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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  • Hi Natasha - unless something unexpected happens in the final negotiations I suspect that post May 2021 you will have to check the person's right to work in the UK, in the same way as for non-EEU nationals.... Time will tell.
  • On the xpert Hr podcast there is a great podcast on this specific topic. Have a listen
  • In reply to Bronwyn:

    Thanks for the tip.
  • In reply to Ray:

    Thanks Ray.
  • Hi Natasha, I am intrigued to hear what you found out:)
  • Might be a little late on this one but we’ve been encouraging employees to apply for the Pre Settled / Settled Status scheme and to keep us updated with the progress. If they have applied and been accepted we then get them to generate a share code with us which we can then check on the Government Website. The check will give you a PDF of the employees Right to Work which you can save and says how long you should keep it for. Please let me know if you would like any more info!
  • In reply to Teresa:

    In the end, I decided to send an email to those employees within our UK team who are EU nationals to see if they needed any help or support with understanding the settled status scheme.
    The great news is that everyone I contacted (except for 2 people) have already received pre-settled or settled status and they sent me the proof which is now stored on their HR files.
    I think that by approaching it as a position of support and guidance rather than a formal check meant that staff reached out quickly and were happy to engage with me which helps with Workforce planning for next year. At this stage, we haven't verified the statuses we'll do this closer to the time.
    I'll be able to follow up with the other 2 before the June deadline.
    Right now, my attention is turned to our graduate recruitment (and the impact that Brexit will have) which will be in full force from January.
  • In reply to Zeta:

    Hi Zeta
    We were advised that we couldn't encourage or help employees with the application process, and that they don't have any legal requirement to tell their employer if they have applied or not. The changes will not apply to existing employees but only new ones from 2021.
  • We have actually ask employees what their intention is an the majority have happily provided their share code. Then you log into the government website input the code and you get a great pdf to download or print. On the form it state " to avoid a penalty you must: 1. Check the photo is the person you employ 2. Keep a copy of this form for 2 years"

    Seems pretty straight forward