We have received queries from a number of Member Companies regarding their obligations in relation to EU Settlement Scheme; in light of this we have put together this short explanatory note.

The deadline for workers applying to the Scheme is 30 June 2021. Any EU worker who wishes to apply must do so before then.

You should be aware that your employees are not obliged to inform you that they have applied to the Settlement Scheme, nor are they obliged to inform you of the outcome of any application.  Similarly, you should not check if an employee has applied.

It is also very important to note that an offer of employment, or continued employment, cannot be made dependent on an individual having made an application to the EU Settlement Scheme.

There is no legal obligation on employers to inform their employees about the EU Settlement Scheme. However if you employ EU workers it is sensible to raise awareness of the Scheme in your workplace and you may find the EU Settlement Scheme Employers Toolkit helpful.

When raising awareness, you must take care not to discriminate against EU citizens. We therefore recommend that your raise awareness generally across the whole workplace.  When raising awareness, you should be careful not to go further and provide immigration advice to employees unless you are qualified to do so.

Finally there is no, and will be no, requirement for employers to conduct any retrospective checks on the right to work of existing workers. The previous right to work checks conducted when the individual commenced work will remain valid. There will however be a change in respect of the right to work checks conducted on new recruits commencing employment after 30 June 2021.