There is no legal responsibility for the SIA to carry out right to work checks; that is the role of the employer. Whilst we have no legal duty to check the right to work of individuals in our licensing decisions, we are continually improving our processes to ensure as far as we reasonably can that SIA licence holders are not illegal workers.

Since July 2007, we have worked with the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) to check the right to work in the United Kingdom of all new SIA licence applicants who are non-EEA nationals. Action was also taken to ensure that all non-EEA nationals holding existing SIA licences underwent the same right to work check through the BIA.

At the end of last year, where it was discovered that a licence holder did not appear to have the right to work in the UK, we wrote to them informing them that we were minded to revoke their licence(s) unless they could demonstrate their right to work. Each of these individuals had 21 days to provide this evidence before their licence was revoked. If we did not receive a response within the 21 days the decision to revoke their licence automatically took effect. The law allows a further 21 days in which the licence holder may exercise their right of appeal to a Magistrate's Court, Sheriff Court or District Court.

Download a copy of the statement given by Vernon Coaker (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Crime Reduction) to Parliament on Thursday 31 January 2008 (download size: 12kb)

If you responded to our 'minded to revoke' letter within the 21 days you may find the following information useful.

We are still working through the large number of responses we received. When we have completed our enquiries we will write to you to let you know the outcome.

• If we are satisfied with the evidence you supplied we will stop the process of revoking your licence. Our letter will confirm this.
• If the Border and Immigration Agency continues to advise us that you do not have the right to work, our decision to revoke your licence will stand. Our letter will confirm this and will advise you of your options for appeal.

If you (or your employees) receive a 'minded to revoke' letter from us and you (or they) have the right to work in the UK, you may find the following information useful.

Register of Licence Holders

The definitive check of whether someone holds a valid SIA licence is not the licence itself but the Register of Licence Holders; there is also a Register of Revoked and Suspended Licences. Both registers are available 24 hours a day on the SIA website. It is essential that employers use the registers regularly to protect their customers, their reputations and to help reduce their own liability.

Since 1 February 2008, employers have been able to use an online facility to check the licence status of their employees. Companies that have already registered with us (as company users) can use the facility to set up a list of licence numbers to be checked against our Register of Licence Holders. The company facility will, on an ongoing basis, highlight any employees' licences that have been suspended or revoked. Unregistered company users can register with us for the bulk application service and employees' licence checking facility by calling our contact centre on 0844 892 0925. This number can only be used for bulk applications and company registrations.