Health care staffing tool streamlines right to work verification, making digital ‘Share Code’ checks the norm
Belfast based workforce platform Locum, 10 May 2026: All non-UK/Irish users will be asked to provide a Home Office ‘Share Code’ to demonstrate their permission to work before they can book shifts through the app from January The company, which supports thousands of pharmacy and healthcare locums across Britain, said the automatic passport-and-selfie verification will replace manual evaluation of documents. Employers can check a worker’s immigration status using Share Codes, unique identifiers supplied by the Home Office’s online portal. Large corporates have already implemented them into onboarding operations, while many SMEs and gig-economy platforms still rely on PDF visas or Biometric Residence Permit scans that are technically non-compliant. Locum’s action is part of a wider trend towards API-based right-to-work checks in the contingent labour market.
For global-mobility managers, the development serves as a reminder that digital compliance is trickling down the supply chains. Any company using third-party staffing applications needs to ensure the supplier is taking right-to-work documentation in a form acceptable to the Home Office and keeping audit trails for at least two years after the conclusion of the assignment. Under the new policy, which came into effect in April, they face civil penalties of up to £60,000 per illegal worker if they do not. The announcement also has practical repercussions for overseas professionals: workers with EU Pre-Settled Status, Skilled-Worker visas or Graduate visas will need to maintain their UKVI accounts current in order to regenerate Share Codes every 90 days. Mobility teams may want to send out guidelines and reminders to avoid shift cancellations or payroll holds.