WFM UK | HR UK: Right to Work & Proof of Eligibility

Overview

This article provides a clear walkthrough for managing Right to Work (RTW) and Proof of Eligibility (PoE) processes within the UK HR platform. It shows how to configure eligibility types, assign proof of eligibility to employees, upload supporting documents, and set up alerts to maintain compliance with UK employment regulations.

Whether you're onboarding new hires, updating existing records, or ensuring legal eligibility documentation is correctly stored and monitored, this guide will help HR administrators use the platform effectively to meet RTW requirements.

Please note: Fourth's HR Module has now integrated with TrustID for Right to Work check. Please see this article for more information.

Contents

• Global Settings
• User Access Permissions
• Configuring Proof of Eligibility Types
• Employee Worker Eligibility
  • EU Citizen Nationality
  • Work Permit
  • Student Visa Details
    • Exemption Periods
    • Rota Module Settings & Validations
    • Scheduling Module Settings & Validations
• Upload Eligibility Documents
• Reporting
  • Customised Reports
  • Proof of Eligibility Export
• Alerts & Reminders
• Best Practice

Global Settings

There are a number of global settings available in the HR Module, relating to the Right to Work & Proof of Eligibility (PoE) functionality. These different settings will be referenced throughout this article.

These can be found by going to: 

• HR > Administration > Global Settings > Edit Default Employee Settings

User Access Permissions

There are a number of user access permissions available in the HR module, relating to the Right to Work & Proof of Eligibility functionality.

To update these permissions individually, they can be found by going to: 

• HR > Users > Assign User Access > search for and select User > User Profile

Configuring Proof of Eligibility Types

Users with the required permissions can navigate to:

• HR > Administration > Proof of Eligibility

Existing PoE types will be listed onscreen.

• Select one from the list or, to add a new one, select Create Proof of Eligibility

• Enter a Description (the name of the PoE type)
• If required, select Passport number mandatory?
• Work Permit? - enables further functionality to be configured - see Work Permit section
• Select if Student Visa? - enables further functionality to be configured - see Student Visa section
• Select Save (or Cancel to exit the configuration without saving)

Once created, the new PoE type will be visible in the main list (as shown in Fig.1).

It is then possible to link the PoE type to specific nationalities, meaning that employees will be presented with the correct PoE options when their nationality is set. To do this:

• Ensure the Assign proof of eligibility to nationalities global setting is enabled
• With the PoE type selected, select Add Nationality

• Use the arrow buttons to move the required Nationalities from 'Available' to 'Assigned' and then Save

Employee Worker Eligibility

Users with the required permissions can navigate to:

• HR > Employees > Employee List > search for and select Employee > Employee Info > Personal Details

Please note: These instructions can also be used when creating a new employee

• Scroll down to the 'Worker Eligibility Documents' section
• Select a Nationality
  • If EU Citizen nationality is selected, predefined Proof of Eligibility Types will be available. See the EU Citizen Nationality section for more information
• Select a Country of Residence
• Select a Proof of Eligibility type
• If applicable, add Proof of Eligibility Comments
• If required, enter Passport Number and Passport Expiry Date
  • If Global Setting is set to Optional or Mandatory, this field will be visible. If set to Hide, it will not be.
  • If mandatory, then it must be entered
• If required, enter Driving Licence Number and Driving Licence Expiry Date
  • If Global Setting is set to Optional or Mandatory, this field will be visible. If set to Hide it will not be.
  • If mandatory, then it must be entered
• If the employee has Indefinite Leave to Remain/Enter, select Indefinite Leave
  • If Global Setting is enabled, this field will not display
• To confirm that an employee's required Right to Work documentation has been reviewed, select Documents Seen And Copied
  • If the Global Setting is set to Mandatory, then this must be ticked to be able to save
• Select Save

If the employee's Proof of Eligibility type is Third Party (TrustID) Proof of Eligibility, this means that TrustID is currently being used to determine their Right to Work. Details for this proof of eligibility cannot be adjusted (read-only), but the Proof of Eligibility can be changed to override this if required: 

EU Citizen Nationality

Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, EU citizens have a new set of employment statuses which they need to apply for to be able to continue to work in the UK after 31st December 2020 [Release Note]. 

If in the previous section the EU Citizen Nationality was selected, subject to a global setting, then three pre-defined PoE types will be available for selection (as well as any type where EU Citizen nationality was assigned) - see Fig.6.

If Pre-settled Status is selected, then:

• Enter a Pre-Settled Status Expiry Date

If Settled Status is selected, then:

• Enter a Share Code

If Temporary Leave To Remain is selected, then:

• Enter a Temporary Leave to Remain Date

Additional Information

Regardless of whether the EU Citizen nationality is in use, the new Proof of Eligibility options will be available for all EU/EEA and Swiss nationalities, so the correct status can be recorded against all eligible employees.

The Proof of Eligibility drop-down list has been populated with the three new options as shown in Fig.6 above.

For applicants from outside of the UK who are not EU, EEA or Swiss, details about their appropriate right to work documents can be found here.

Work Permit

If the Proof of Eligibility type was configured to be a Work Permit, then after selecting the type in the employee's Worker Eligibility Documents section, the Work Permit? field will automatically be ticked and become mandatory to complete.

• Enter a Permit Type, Permit Number, and Expiry Date
• Then select Save

Student Visa

If the Proof of Eligibility type was configured to be a Student Visa, then after selecting the type in the employee's Worker Eligibility Documents section, the Student Visa? box will automatically tick and become mandatory to complete.

• Select Student Visa Type, which will set a working limitation in hours that the employee can work each week. Select either:
  • All Other Courses (20 Hours)
  • Below First Level Degree (10 Hours)
  • Foundation Degree Course (10 Hours)

Please note: The different student visa types and their hour limitations can be updated via a Rota module setting. See the Rota Module Settings & Validations section below.

• Enter a Visa Start Date
• Enter a Visa Expiry Date
• Enter a Visa Number (Share Code can be entered here if required)

See the Exemption Periods section below for more information on Exemption Start Date and Exemption End Date.

• Tick Documents Seen And Copied?
  • If the Global Setting is set to Mandatory, then it must be ticked to be able to save
• Select Save at the bottom of the 'Personal Details' page

Exemption Periods

With Student Visas come Exemption Periods for vacation or "out of term" time periods. Previously, only one exemption period could be set, meaning users would have to constantly review and change the exemption periods to match the right date range of the working hour limitation exemption. The HR module will now allow for the addition of multiple exemption periods:

• Within the 'Student Visa Details' section, select Dates within the Exemption Periods field:

This will present a pop-up window to configure exemption periods. 

• Select Add Date
• Enter a Date From and a Date To, and then Save

This will create the exemption period, and the process can be repeated for every exemption period that is applicable during the time of the employee's Student Visa.

Subject to the Rota module validation in the section below, full Rota weeks (and Scheduling) within the exemption period will not validate the Hours Limitation set by the Student Visa, as the employee is allowed to work more than the limit during these periods.

Please note: This validation is subject to the rota week, not each individual day. If a Rota week includes a day where the limitation applies, the entire Rota week will be subject to the validation.

Rota Module Settings & Validations

As mentioned in the Student Visa section above, the different student visa types and their hour limitations can be updated via a Rotas module setting.

• Go to Rotas > Administration > Global Settings, scroll down and select Edit Student Visa Settings under the Student Visa Settings section (see Fig.16)

The three different Student Visa Types will display and allow for reconfiguration, if desired.

• The Number of hours permitted to work in UK for each type can be adjusted
• Restrict those on student visas from working more than 20 hours/week ? can be disabled/enabled for each type

Please note: If the number of hours for a type is adjusted, it will not update the label name from stating 20 or 10 hours.

Another setting available in the Rota module is the Warning Settings for Confliction shifts on Rota. Depending on the option selected, this will prevent rotas from being saved, or submitted, or both when it comes to shift conflicts and limitations such as Student Visas. 

This can be found by going to:

• Rota > Administration > Global Settings and selecting Edit Rota Settings

• Scroll down to Warning Settings for Confliction shifts on Rota
• There will be six available options, with the recommended setting being Warn on Save and Block Submission

This recommended setting will warn the manager when saving the Rota, but not prevent them from doing so. The manager will be prevented from submitting the Rota to payroll if they have not rectified the scheduled hours.

With this setting enabled, when scheduling a qualifying employee and calculating or saving the rota, a pop-up will appear. 

An asterisk is displayed to remind the manager that the employee is restricted from working more than the allowed hours - see Fig.19.

Scheduling Module Settings & Validation

Ensure that the above Rota module global settings are applied before following these steps:

• Go to Scheduling > Settings > select Location
• Select Edit against the required Organisation and tick the box against Use Student Visa Functionality
• Scroll down and select Save

With this setting enabled, when scheduling the employee, a pop-up will appear, warning that "The shift cannot be created as the total hours worked will exceed the hours allowed limit on the employee's student visa.".

From December 2025, new validation has been implemented to further enforce Right to Work compliance in WFM UK. This means that when an employee has an expired Right to Work, regardless of the type, when attempting to schedule the employee the following error will be received:

The employee's Right to Work status should be reviewed and updated when an applicable and active Right to Work has been achieved by the employee and provided to users.

This validation will always operate using the latest updated section, either Worker Eligibility Documents or the TrustID section, even if the expiry entered in the latest updated section is before the other.

Please Note: If the Worker Eligibility Documents or Trust ID section is not used in the system, then this validation will not apply, and a valid Right to Work will be assumed.

Upload Eligibility Documents

However, Fourth provides the tools and functionality to record the outcomes of these checks. This includes the ability to upload relevant documentation to the employee’s record, creating a centralised company record and audit trail. This ensures all necessary information is easily accessible in the event of an audit or internal review.

To upload these documents, follow this article on uploading documents to an employee's record. Documents that can be uploaded are not limited to Right to Work documents.

• WFM UK: HR: Loading Employee Documentation and Checking Available Storage and Reporting on Uploaded Documentation

Reporting

As part of Worker Eligibility and Right to Work functionality, the HR module has fields available as part of its customised reporting functionality, as well as a Proof of Eligibility export. These two options allow users to report on employee worker eligibility status and the current Proof of Eligibility types available.

Customised Reports

For general guidance on how to create customised reports in the HR Module, please review the following:

• WFM UK: UI Refresh: HR and Payroll Custom Reports

Specifically for Worker Eligibility and Right to Work-related fields and reporting: 

• When creating the custom report, ensure the Report Type is selected as Employee Details Report
• The following fields, of the same name as the functionality above (unless stated below), will be available to return as part of customised reports:

Fig.25 - Worker Eligibility - Right to Work - Custom Report Fields (Employee Details)

Fig.26 - Worker Eligibility - Right to Work - Custom Report Fields (EU Employee Status)

Proof of Eligibility Export

To run the export, go to:

• HR > Reports > Exports > Proof of Eligibility Types

This export can be run in three different ways, based on the Type of Data Returned field

• Leave blank - will return all the Proof of Eligibility Types for third parties, as well as every Nationality we have the data for - see Fig.26
• Enter a 1 - will return all the Proof of Eligibility Types for third parties - see Fig.27
• Enter a 2 - will return all the Proof of Eligibility Types for each Nationality only - see Fig.28
• When ready, select Run Export

Fig.27 - Proof of Eligibility Export in the HR module

Fig.28 - Proof of Eligibility Export - All Types

Fig.29 - Proof of Eligibility Export - Third-Party Integration Types Only

Fig.30 - Proof of Eligibility Export - Nationality Types only

Alerts & Reminders

As part of Worker Eligibility and Right to Work functionality, the HR Module has events available as part of its alerts and reminders functionality. These will allow users to be alerted or reminded that an employee's right to work is expiring.

For general guidance on how to create reminders and alerts in the HR Module, please review the following:

• WFM UK: UI Refresh HR: Setting Alerts
• WFM UK: UI Refresh HR: Setting Reminders

Specifically for Worker Eligibility and Right to Work-related Reminders & Alerts:

• Start by creating a reminder or alert, and then when selecting Assign Events, the following fields, of the same name as the functionality above (unless stated below), will be available to be configured to a reminder or alert:

Best Practice

An employee must provide documentation to prove they are eligible to work in the chosen country of residence. Proof of Eligibility types are created and assigned to the relevant nationality in line with Home Office guidelines. When an employee is created, the document applicable to that particular employee can be selected. 

The instructions above and the information below are a best practice guide to making sure all employees have the correct records assigned to them in the system.

Verify Employee Right to Work

• Before an employee begins employment, those with the duties to do so (Hiring Managers, Recruitment Officers, Head Office) must review the original documentation proving eligibility to work

• A photocopy or scanned copy of this documentation must be taken and retained on file

Recording Documentation in the System

• When creating a new employee record [Guidance]:

  • On the Personal Details page, complete the Worker Eligibility section

  • Check the Documents Seen checkbox as a way to confirm that original documentation has been verified

• Upload the proof of eligibility document(s) to the employee’s record via the Document Management section

Alert & Reminder Notification Setup

• Where available, alerts and/or reminders should be configured to notify the responsible parties when proof of eligibility is due to expire

• Alerts can be scheduled at your preferred frequency (daily, weekly, monthly)

Reporting & Compliance Monitoring

• Create a custom report to identify:

  • New starters

  • Whether documents have been seen and uploaded

  • Employees with a start date greater than a specified date

  • Use to monitor expiries

Ongoing Compliance

• Conduct regular spot checks to ensure continued compliance

• Include document verification as part of your ongoing HR audit process

• Consistently review and maintain Proof of Eligibility Types in the HR module, ensuring they remain up to date in accordance with HMRC & .GOV guidance

  • Fourth do not maintain or update Proof of Eligibility Types

1. Training

   • Train responsible parties and managers on how to identify fraudulent documents

     • Guidance on examining identity documents

       • Link is up to date as of 31st July 2025

   • Train responsible parties and managers on Right to Work rules

     • Employer's Guide to Right to Work Checks

       • Link is up to date as of 31st July 2025