Pre-employment checks in hospitality and retail
For most hospitality and retail jobs, the only check the law expects is right to work. The Home Office scheme applies across the UK and the check must be done before the person starts. From 1 October 2026 it also covers people on a worker's contract, individual sub-contractors and online matching services, so casual, gig and platform arrangements can be in scope. The civil penalty is up to £60,000 per illegal worker, and in England and Wales a penalty is grounds for the licensing authority to review, suspend or revoke an alcohol licence.
In England and Wales, every alcohol sale under a premises licence must be made or authorised by a personal licence holder (community premises can apply to remove this requirement), but bar and shop staff do not need their own licence. The licensing authority, not you, checks a licence applicant's criminal record. For cash-handling roles, a criminal record or credit check is optional: the Information Commission's (ICO) draft guidance says to vet only where the law requires it or the role carries a significant and particular risk, such as theft.
Right to work at volume
Our right to work checks page explains the three prescribed methods. In a high-turnover business the risks are timing and consistency. The check must be complete before the person starts work, and the Home Office guide says to be consistent in how you check all workers, including British citizens. Its first example is a hotel receptionist on set shifts: the hotel is the direct employer, so the hotel does the check. You can delegate checks to managers, but you remain liable if a check was not done as prescribed.
Our view: build the check into the step that books a first shift, so nobody is rostered until it is recorded, and diary a follow-up for anyone whose permission is time-limited. The guide says to re-check on or before the date that permission ends.
Casual, agency and gig workers from October 2026
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 widened who counts as an employer. The Home Office guide gives two examples close to this sector. An employment business supplying temporary workers to bars and restaurants is their employer for the scheme. So is a delivery platform whose couriers log into an app and are paid per delivery. The label in the contract does not decide this: the Home Office looks at the substance of the arrangement. For workers and individual sub-contractors, a civil penalty can only be imposed where the engagement began on or after 1 October 2026.
If you take temps from an employment business for your own operations, the employment business stays responsible. Extended liability is different: if you are contracted to provide services to a client and another business supplies the workers, you need written right to work terms and identity verification in place before the work starts, plus substitution controls where a contract allows substitution. A retailer that simply buys cleaning for its own stores is outside these provisions. HRjoy can help you map which of your labour arrangements are in scope.
Penalties and your licences
Our right to work checks page sets out the full list of sanctions. For this sector the key point is that in England and Wales a civil penalty is grounds for the licensing authority to review, suspend or revoke an alcohol licence, and the Home Office, as a responsible authority under the Licensing Act 2003, receives copies of applications and can object.
Personal licences and young workers
In England and Wales, a premises licence for alcohol requires a designated premises supervisor (DPS) who holds a personal licence, and every supply must be made or authorised by a personal licence holder, unless a community premises has had this requirement removed. GOV.UK says you do not need a personal licence to be employed in a pub or other business that sells alcohol.
The licensing authority must grant a personal licence if the applicant is 18 or over, entitled to work in the UK and holds a licensing qualification, has had no personal licence forfeited in the last five years, and has no conviction for a relevant or foreign offence or immigration penalty. The section 182 guidance says applicants must include a criminal conviction certificate, a criminal record certificate or a Police National Computer search. So when you appoint a DPS, ask to see the licence rather than repeating that check. Licences no longer need renewing, holders must notify relevant convictions to the licensing authority, and for applications from 6 April 2017 a licence held by someone subject to immigration control lapses when their right to work ends.
A responsible person commits an offence if they knowingly let someone under 18 sell alcohol without each sale being specifically approved by a responsible person, unless the table meal exception applies. GOV.UK says children can work part-time from 14, or 13 in some council areas. Many councils also require an employment permit for children under school leaving age, and local bylaws list jobs children cannot do.
Scotland has a separate personal licence system under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, with applications to a Licensing Board. This section does not cover Northern Ireland.
Cash handling and when to vet
Handling cash does not by itself justify vetting. The ICO's draft guidance, under review following the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, says to vet only where you have a legal obligation or can identify significant and particular risks, such as theft, with no less intrusive alternative. You should not routinely vet all candidates.
A basic DBS check, showing unspent convictions and conditional cautions, is available for people working in England and Wales. Scotland has the Level 1 disclosure and Northern Ireland the AccessNI basic check. Obtain criminal records information only for the person you intend to appoint, and expect to need a data protection impact assessment: the ICO says this processing will in most circumstances be high risk.
Credit reference checks must not be carried out routinely or without justification. A cash office manager who banks the takings may justify one; a till operator usually will not. Our credit checks page sets out less intrusive options.
References at scale
Our employment references page covers timing and consent. For high-volume hiring, our view is that a short standard request for dates and role, sent only for successful candidates, is enough.
Role-based check matrix
Use this as a starting point for your own role matrix. Licensing rows apply in England and Wales.
| Role or activity | Check | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Every new employee, worker or individual sub-contractor (whole UK) | Right to work check before work starts | Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 as amended from 1 October 2026; Home Office employer's guide |
| Designated premises supervisor | Sight of a current personal licence | Licensing Act 2003, section 19 |
| Staff applying for a personal licence | Criminal record certificate, checked by the licensing authority | Licensing Act 2003, section 120; section 182 guidance, paragraph 4.49 |
| Under-18s selling alcohol | Approval of each sale by a responsible person (our view: record date of birth) | Licensing Act 2003, section 153 |
| Bar, kitchen, floor and till staff | Right to work; references limited to what you need | Home Office guide; ICO verification guidance (draft) |
| Contract caterers at a school or college in England | DBS check at the level KCSIE sets; identity check on arrival | KCSIE 2026, paragraphs 368 to 373 |
| Cash office, safe or high-value stock | Basic criminal record check, for a documented theft risk | ICO vetting guidance (draft) |
| Authority over takings or company accounts | Credit reference check, if relevant and disclosed early | ICO vetting guidance (draft) |
What to tell the candidate
- Tell candidates early which checks the role needs, why, who will see the results and how long you will keep them.
- Check everyone's right to work in the same way, and accept any valid method the person chooses.
- Ask for criminal record information only for the person you intend to appoint, and never by making them use a subject access request.
- If you carry out criminal records checks in England and Wales, have a policy on employing ex-offenders and show it to any applicant who asks.
- Give candidates a chance to explain anything that does not match what they told you, and record your decision.
Sources
- Right to work checks: an employer's guide · GOV.UK (Home Office)
- Employer's guide to right to work checks: 1 October 2026 · GOV.UK (Home Office)
- Penalties for employing illegal workers · GOV.UK
- Alcohol licensing · GOV.UK (Home Office)
- Revised guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 · GOV.UK (Home Office)
- Licensing Act 2003, section 19 · legislation.gov.uk
- Licensing Act 2003, section 120 · legislation.gov.uk
- Licensing Act 2003, section 153 · legislation.gov.uk
- Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, section 72 · legislation.gov.uk
- Child employment · GOV.UK
- Pre-employment vetting of candidates · ICO
- Verifying candidates · ICO
- Check someone's criminal record · GOV.UK (Disclosure and Barring Service)
- Request a basic DBS check · GOV.UK
- Disclosure levels · mygov.scot
- Types of AccessNI checks · nidirect
- Keeping children safe in education 2026 · GOV.UK (Department for Education)
- When an employer must give a reference · Acas
General information for employers in the UK, not legal advice. HRjoy advises on screening policy and fair process. We do not run checks ourselves; where you need checks run, we can introduce you to our screening partners. Check the official sources for your situation.
Checks by role
Required or expected
- Every new employee and, for arrangements made from 1 October 2026, workers and individual sub-contractors: a right to work check before work starts.
- A designated premises supervisor in England and Wales: sight of their personal licence.
- Under-18s who will sell alcohol in England and Wales: our view is to record their date of birth, so that each sale is specifically approved by a responsible person as section 153 requires.
- Catering or retail contractors working at a school or college in England: the DBS level KCSIE 2026 sets, and an identity check on arrival.
Depends on the role
- Cash office, safe and high-value stock roles: a basic criminal record check, for a documented theft risk, on the person you intend to appoint.
- Authority over takings, banking or company accounts: a credit reference check, if relevant to the role and explained early.
Rarely justified
- Basic criminal record checks on every shop floor, bar and kitchen applicant.
- Credit checks on general retail or hospitality staff.
- Requiring bar staff to hold a personal licence just to serve.
Questions
Something else? Ask us.
Do bar staff need a personal licence?
No. GOV.UK says you do not need a personal licence to be employed in a pub or other business that sells alcohol. In England and Wales, every sale under a premises licence must be made or authorised by a personal licence holder, and the designated premises supervisor must hold one.
Can we DBS check all our shop staff because they handle cash?
A basic check is available for people working in England and Wales, but availability is not justification. The ICO's draft guidance says not to routinely vet all candidates unless the law requires it, and to vet only for a significant and particular risk, such as theft. Limit checks to roles carrying that risk and to the person you intend to appoint.
Who checks right to work for agency temps and couriers?
In the Home Office examples, an employment business supplying temps to bars and restaurants is their employer for the scheme, and so is a delivery platform whose couriers log into its app and are paid per delivery. If you subcontract work you have contracted to provide to a client, you need written right to work terms and identity checks to protect yourself.
Does a personal licence prove someone's right to work?
No. The Home Office says right to work checks carried out for other purposes, such as an application for an operating licence or other regulatory approval, do not establish a statutory excuse. Do your own prescribed check before the person starts work.
Related checks
- Right to work checks: who to check and how from October 2026 Who needs a right to work check from 1 October 2026, including workers and sub-contractors, how each of the three methods works and follow-ups.
- Criminal record checks for employers Which criminal record check a role can lawfully have in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and how to run it fairly.
- Employment references: what employers can ask and when When to ask for references, what to ask, the sector rules for care, schools, early years and FCA firms, and how to treat candidates fairly.
- Credit checks on job candidates When a UK employer can justify a credit check on a candidate, how it differs from insolvency and director searches, and what to tell applicants.
- Identity and address verification for employers What an employee identity check proves, how it differs from right to work, certified digital ID services, false documents and when to verify an address.
Sector guides
- Background checks for recruitment agencies and staffing businesses What the Conduct Regulations require agencies to confirm, who does right to work and DBS checks for agency workers, and what hirers should ask for.
- Background checks for drivers and logistics staff DVLA licence checks with a check code, Driver CPC, tachograph cards, right to work for couriers, transport security vetting and when DBS checks fit.
- Background checks in security and facilities management SIA licensing under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, what the SIA checks, BS 7858 screening, and checks for facilities staff on sensitive sites.
- Pre-employment checks in schools and colleges KCSIE 2026 checks for schools and colleges in England, the single central record, supply staff and volunteers, and the rules in Wales, Scotland and NI.
Guides
- Which pre-employment checks are mandatory, and which are optional? A role and sector matrix of UK pre-employment checks: which the law requires, which a regulator expects and which are optional.
- The UK background screening checklist for employers A stage-by-stage background screening checklist for UK employers: who owns each step, what to record, and when to delete it.
Related answers
- How do employers carry out right to work checks? Before someone starts work, employers should carry out one of three prescribed checks: a manual check of original documents, a Home Office online check using a share code, or a check through a registered right to work digital verification service provider. Done correctly, it gives a statutory excuse against a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker.
- What are the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010? The Equality Act 2010 lists nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. In Great Britain, employers must not discriminate against job applicants, workers or former workers because of any of them.
- How should employers handle an employee subject access request? Employers should recognise the request, which can be made verbally or in writing, confirm the person's identity if needed, make a reasonable and proportionate search and respond without undue delay and within one month. Complex requests can be extended by up to two months. A fee usually cannot be charged, and information about other people may need redacting.
- How should probation periods work? There is no legal requirement to have a probation period, and it can be any length. Acas recommends clear written expectations, regular reviews, support to improve, extension where appropriate, and a fair procedure before any dismissal. Day-one rights such as protection from discrimination apply throughout, and the unfair dismissal qualifying period falls to 6 months from 1 January 2027.