Illegal Worker Checks

Illegal working is one of the biggest challenges facing the construction industry. There is a great deal of confusion surrounding the process of checking a prospective employee’s right to work, but it is essential that sites are aware that the correct processes are in place. Even if the main contractor is not legally responsible for ensuring right to work, as they are often not the direct employer, it is their reputation and project which would suffer if illegal workers were found on site.

See the examples below for how one site in the Republic of Ireland addressed this:

• The company already operates effective systems to ensure the legality of the workforce, including spot checks.
• Given the large size and scope of the project, they saw the importance of ensuring their right to work checks were conducted correctly.
• The company therefore requested that the relevant government authorities visited the site to check their outcomes and note any discrepancies or endorsements of their approach.

Working directly with government bodies helps dispel misunderstanding about the issue of illegal workers and ensures the correct processes are in place.