National Insurance: Coronavirus

(asked on 10th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure people who are unable to secure a National Insurance number as a result of the temporary suspension of services are able to access employment.


Answered by
Guy Opperman Portrait
Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This question was answered on 15th December 2020

DWP have worked closely with HMRC to enable them to issue revised guidance to employers regarding the continued suspension of the NINo service, which reiterates that they are able to employ individuals who do not have a NINo.

An individual does not need a National Insurance Number (NINo) to apply for, or take up employment. They evidence their right to work in the UK by providing their status within the UK, through either Home Office documentation, for example a Biometric Residence Permit, Passport or National Identity card to prospective employers.

All employers are required to conduct mandatory Right to Work checks on all prospective employees, however these checks do not include the provision of a NINo. A list of acceptable documents that enables an individual to demonstrate they have the right work is set out on Gov.uk in the Employers Guide to Right to Work Checks.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checks-employers-guide

The possession of a NINo does not prove to an employer that the employee has a right to work.

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