Digital Identity

Identity checks must be performed on all candidates whether they are UK resident or an overseas candidate seeking work in the UK. This is to confirm that the candidate is who they claim to be and are not impersonating another individual or forging an identity.  

There are two elements to identity checks. The first is to confirm the candidate’s personal identity such as their name, age, and place of birth. The second is to evidence residential history in terms of their address and their current country of residence.  

Prior to the pandemic identity checks were mainly conducted face to face. During the pandemic this has moved to being a predominantly online or digital check and The Better Hiring Institute see this, coupled with Digital Right to Work and Digital police checks, as integral to longer term Digital Hiring.

Digital Hiring has multiple benefits: improve safeguarding through the use of digital identity and therefore reduce the likelihood of people without right to work or the appropriate qualifications to get work, especially with vulnerable people, improve UK productivity by reducing waste times for businesses hiring new staff and therefore reduce workload and waiting lists, improve the economy by enabling people to find work faster, improve wellbeing by enabling people to apply for jobs remotely and work remotely in roles (both permanent or “gig”) that suit them, and improve safety for job seekers who are commonly duped by fake recruitment scams.

UK Government is currently exploring digital identity solutions and it is expected in future that employers will be able to validate identity via a digital check.

The Better Hiring Institute is representing hiring across the labour market in the UK GOV project led by Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman.

The government has published its draft rules of the road for governing the future use of digital identities. It is part of plans to make it quicker and easier for people to verify themselves using modern technology and create a process as trusted as using passports or bank statements.

The new ‘trust framework' lays out the draft rules organisations should follow. It includes the principles, policies, procedures, and standards governing the use of digital identity to allow for the sharing of information to check people’s identities or personal details, such as a user’s address or age, in a trusted and consistent way. The framework, once finalised, is expected to be brought into law.

13th September 2021 - We are delighted to have submitted our views into the DCMS digital identity consultation on how the system should operate, including proposals for a governing body which will be charged with making sure organisations follow government rules on digital identity. Digital identity on a UK scale has huge benefits to hirers, especially in our current staffing crisis). Digital identity for hiring would allow would-be employees to prove who they are upfront and remove the need for other physical documents such as utility bills and proof of address. A huge step towards true Digital Hiring.