A candidate is due to start on Monday. Somewhere between the offer and the first shift, someone asks: “Has anyone checked that this person is allowed to work here?” The answer is often “I think so”. The check was done over the phone, a copy of a document sits in a colleague’s mailbox, or it was planned and then lost in the rush to fill the role. This article explains why every placement in your Applicant Tracking System needs a recorded right-to-work check before the first working day: what to record, where the check belongs in the pipeline and how to keep candidate data to a minimum. It is not legal advice. The rules on identity and permission to work differ per country and per type of contract, so check which rules apply to you.
The risk looks different per segment. Staffing desks work with high volumes and short lead times; a candidate who is confirmed on Thursday may start on Friday, and that is exactly when the check slips. Secondment teams place professionals for months, sometimes with a permit that has an end date which falls in the middle of the assignment. Recruitment agencies making permanent placements are usually not the employer, but clients still expect the agency to have asked the question before presenting the candidate. In executive search candidates regularly relocate from abroad, and the permit process directly affects the start date. In-house recruitment teams often hand the formal check to HR, but need to know its status before an offer goes out.
Why the check slips
- The check is seen as an HR or payroll task, so recruitment assumes someone else has done it
- Starts are arranged at short notice, and the first working day arrives before the documents do
- The result lives in an email or a phone call, not on the candidate record, so nobody can see whether it was done
- A permit with an end date is checked once, and nobody notices that it expires during the assignment
- Copies of documents are collected in personal mailboxes and kept far longer than needed
What to record for every placement
- Who checked and when — the name of the person who carried out the check and the date, recorded automatically when the status is set
- What was checked — identity and, where relevant, permission to work, described by type rather than by storing the document itself
- Outcome — confirmed, pending or not allowed to start, with a short note when something is unclear
- Valid until — when the permission has an end date, recorded as a date field so it can trigger a reminder
- Responsibility — whether your agency, the client or a payroll partner carries out the check, as agreed for this client
The point is not to turn recruiters into document inspectors. The point is that, before anyone starts, everyone in the team can see whether the check took place, who did it and what the outcome was.
Make it an entry criterion for the placement stage
Add the check to the written entry criteria of the stage in which a placement is marked as ready to start. A candidate can receive and accept an offer, but the placement only moves on once the check has a confirmed outcome. Combine it with the confirmed start date: when the start date is set and the check is still pending, the Applicant Tracking System puts it on the list of the owner of the vacancy a few days before the start, not on the morning itself. Ask early as well. At screening you can already ask whether the candidate needs a permit, so you do not find out after the offer has been accepted.
Watch end dates during the assignment
In staffing and secondment, a permission with an end date also matters after the first day. Record that date as a field, so the system reminds the owner in good time, alongside the end date of the assignment and the redeployment check. That prevents a professional from having to stop work suddenly because a document has expired, which is as unpleasant for the candidate as it is for the client.
Record the check, keep documents to a minimum
Identity documents are sensitive personal data. Record that the check took place and what the outcome was; only store a copy when a rule actually requires it, and then with restricted access and a retention date. Do not collect documents through personal mailboxes or chat apps; use the candidate record, so access and deletion stay under control. Tell the candidate in advance what you check and why, in the same open way you ask for consent before a client submission.
Agree with each client who does what
For permanent placements the employer usually carries the formal responsibility, yet clients appreciate knowing what the agency has already asked. Record per client who carries out the check, on the client record beside the pipeline and with the agreed terms, so the recruiter knows whether to check, to ask or only to confirm. In staffing and secondment, where the agency is often the employer, the check is part of your own process and belongs in the placement stage by default.
Measure it with your own data
Count from your own records: how many placements started with a confirmed check, how many had the check completed only on or after the first working day, how many recorded permissions expire within the next sixty days and how many starts were postponed because the check was not complete. Report the number of records behind each figure and use the same filters every time. Do not rely on general figures you cannot verify; your own placement history shows where the gaps are, for example a desk that arranges starts at very short notice.
Where artificial intelligence may help — and where it must not
Artificial intelligence may remind the owner of a placement that is about to start without a completed check, draft a message that tells the candidate which documents to bring and why, or list recorded permissions that expire soon. It stays a helper. Artificial intelligence does not replace recruiters, does not judge whether a document is genuine and does not decide whether someone is allowed to work. That judgement stays with the person who carried out the check, under the rules that apply; the Applicant Tracking System makes sure the outcome is recorded and visible before the first working day.
A practical start
- Add fields for the right-to-work check: who, when, outcome and, where applicable, valid until
- Make a confirmed check part of the entry criteria of the placement stage
- Ask at screening whether the candidate needs a permit to work
- Record per client who carries out the check
- Store copies only when a rule requires it, with restricted access and a retention date
No start without a recorded check
A recorded right-to-work check is a small step in the pipeline that protects the candidate, the client and your own organisation. It works best when it is part of the placement stage itself rather than a task someone remembers on the Friday before. Explore the product or book a demo — we show how stage criteria, candidate records and placements work together in BoldATS for your segment.