There is no legal responsibility for the SIA to carry out right to work checks; that is the role of the employer. Whilst we have no legal duty to check the right to work of individuals in our licensing decisions, we are continually improving our processes to ensure as far as we reasonably can that SIA licence holders are not illegal workers.
Since July 2007, we have worked with the UK Border Agency
(UKBA) to check the right to work in the United Kingdom of all SIA licence applicants who are non-EEA nationals.
We also check the right to work of SIA licence holders from outside the EEA (i.e. individuals who have met our licensing criteria and have been granted a licence). Where the recorded right to work of a licence holder expires before their SIA licence, a further check is undertaken with the UKBA.
Employers are reminded of their legal obligation to check their employees with restricted hours visas do not work more hours than allowed, and that they know if an employees right to work expires before their SIA licence expires.
If the results of our check suggest that the individual's right to work has indeed expired, we will write to inform them of our intention to revoke their SIA licence(s) unless they can demonstrate a renewed right to work. They have 21 days to provide this evidence: if we do not receive a response within the 21 days the decision to revoke their licence will automatically take effect.
If you've received one of these letters you will need to respond in writing to the address provided in order to stop the revocation process. If you require advice we have set up a dedicated helpline on 020 7025 4222 / 4223. This helpline cannot assist with other licensing queries: please direct these to our contact centre on 0844 892 1025.
Register of Licence Holders
The definitive check of whether someone holds a valid SIA licence is not the licence itself but the Register of Licence Holders, which is available 24 hours a day on the SIA website. It is essential that employers use the registers regularly to protect their customers, their reputations and to help reduce their own liability.
Since 1 February 2008, employers have been able to use an online facility to check the licence status of their employees. Companies that have already registered with us (as company users) can use the facility to set up a list of licence numbers to be checked against our Register of Licence Holders. The company facility will, on an ongoing basis, highlight any employees' licences that have been suspended or revoked. Unregistered company users can register with us for the bulk application service and employees' licence checking facility by calling our contact centre on 0844 892 0925. This number can only be used for bulk applications and company registrations.