Another major irritation these days is the eternal fight to prove you are who you say you are. I have an aversion to sending personal information and passport details to people I don’t really know and whose data protection processes are possibly less than perfect.
Thing is, most of the time it isn’t actually necessary to do so…
If you are opted out of the agency regulations, as I’ve said before, there is no obligation on the agency to prove your identity themselves. They can cover their responsibilities with a written assertion from YouCo that the people they supply have been properly ID checked and their residency confirmed. I’ve done exactly that with a major Oil Company in the not too distant past and they were perfectly happy to accept it. Shame too many agencies don’t know that.
Of course, if you’re opted in – which is most of us since once again the agencies don’t understand the rules of their own business properly – then you do have to prove it. And that’s where the fun begins.
Do you realise that a copy of a passport is not a valid proof of ID? It is only a proof if you present the original in person. At that point the recipient can take a copy as a record of having done the check (are you listening, Baroness Scotland? This is your law we’re discussing here…). So all those copies we keep sending to assorted agencies every time we get close to a contract are utterly unnecessary and legally invalid. Still, no doubt it gives their bean counters a nice warm feeling.
So if you can’t manage to trek up to the agency’s office every time, are there other, possibly more efficient ways? How about getting a sworn affidavit from a solicitor that they have seen your proof of ID and residency. That costs around £10, you get a form with their stamp on it and you can send copies of that around the world quite safely.
Or, of course, you opt out properly and save everyone the trouble.
Finally that’s just the initial ID and residency checking. Several regulated industries like banking have rather more stringent controls. Those are, sadly, unavoidable. But at least you shouldn’t have to send them your passport…
In theory this is the case that if one has opted out one does not have to provide this info to the agency concerned as long as you co signs a disclaimer.
however as agencies are paid by the client , if a client and many do insist that the agency holds and collects this information, the agency will do just that.
many agencies know the rules however they are often only the piper and he who pays calls the tune.
most agencies are well aware of their data protection obligations and tend to police these fairly rigourously, what is of concern is the obvious lack of undertsanding of such issues that comes from the clients.
finally one should never send ones passport, simply scan it or photograph it with your mobile phone and send it as an attachment to your agent.
To be honest I have no problems with this process at all as it doesn’t just apply to us, it applies to everyone for a good reason. It is an employees responsibility to make sure we are eligible to work in the country. Would YOU not want to see the passport of anyone that works for you to prove you have provded due diligence to avoid a £5k fine. I know I would so you can’t blame employers/agents covering their backside?
The check is there for a reason as well, to make sure people are not working here illegaly which I am glad they are taking notice of. Yes passport isn’t definitive proof but its a start.
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“It is an employees responsibility to make sure we are eligible to work in the country. Would YOU not want to see the passport of anyone that works for you to prove you have provded due diligence to avoid a £5k fine.”
I’m employed by my ltd co, a legal entity in its own right; if I wasn’t entitled to work here I would expect my ltd co to be fined. I have business to business contracts for supply of services through pimps or direct with end clients so they should not be going through all this asylum and immigration act with me.