Why we are introducing this change
The law around Right to Work (RTW) checks in the UK is changing. Employers and businesses who work with drivers who do not have a valid Right to Work in the UK can face serious financial penalties, regardless of whether the business was aware of the issue.
To help protect fleets and their drivers from this risk, we are introducing a RTW verification step into the driver compliance process on the platform. This change is driven by upcoming legal requirements. We've built RTW verification into Exchange to make it as straightforward as possible for you to stay compliant and protect your business from penalties. Note that British/Irish citizens and persons in the EU Settlement scheme will automatically have Right to Work with no expiry.
What is a Right to Work share code?
A Right to Work share code is a code generated by a driver through the UK government's online service. It allows an employer to verify a driver's RTW status through the GOV.UK website. Share codes are time-limited and expire after use or after a set period, so this process will need to be repeated when the RTW share code expires, or if the fleet owner is unable to make the change within its 90 day expiration.
Please note: if a driver is part of the EU Settlement Scheme, their Right to Work doesn't expire. In this case, the fleet owner must select the "Permanent right to work (no expiry)" option in the Verify RTW pop-up, rather than entering an expiry date.
What has changed in the driver compliance process?
The overall driver compliance process works the same way as before, with one new step added. Drivers are now required to supply their RTW share code through their Trustd profile, and fleet managers are required to verify that share code at GOV.UK to record the outcome in the platform.
Here is how the updated process works from start to finish:
Step by step guide
These steps apply the same way whether the driver is brand new to Trustd or already has an existing profile there's no separate process for existing drivers.
1 - Start the Trustd drivers process
Begin the Trustd drivers process as normal. The driver will receive an invitation to create and complete their Trustd profile, which now includes a RTW step where they supply their RTW share code.
2 - Retrieve the driver's share code
Once the driver has completed their Trustd profile, go to Users/Drivers in the platform and select the relevant driver. From here, open the "Verify RTW" pop-up, where the driver's RTW share code is retrieved.
3 - Verify the share code with Home Office
Take the share code and go to the Home Office's Right to Work checking service, outside of the platform. Enter the share code there to verify the driver's Right to Work status. The service will confirm whether the driver is legally allowed to work in the UK.
You can access the Right to Work checking service here: https://www.gov.uk/view-right-to-work
4 - Record the verification in the platform
Return to the platform, in the "Verify RTW" pop-up on the driver's record. Enter the driver's RTW expiry date, or confirm permanent RTW (no expiry), then confirm. This saves the verification against that driver's profile and creates a record that the RTW check has been completed.
Please note: if the driver's RTW is confirmed as permanent under the EU Settlement Scheme, tick the "doesn't expire" option on the pop-up rather than entering an expiry date. When a share code expires, the driver will need to generate a new one through the government service and supply it via their Trustd profile. The verification process then repeats from Step 2.
Operating the RTW process within the Exchange: a full walkthrough
Stage 1 - Driver supplies their share code (driver-side)
Once enrolled in Driver Management, the driver completes their Trustd profile as normal. The new RTW step asks them for their Right to Work share code. British/Irish drivers don't see this step in the same way, since Right to Work is automatic for them; everything from here on applies to non-British/non-Irish drivers.
Stage 2 - Fleet owner is prompted to verify (fleet owner-side)
Stage 3 - The Verify RTW pop-up (fleet owner-side)
Clicking the CTA opens the Verify RTW pop-up. Two paths branch from here:
Time-limited path: the fleet owner cross-references the driver's share code and date of birth against Check a job applicant's right to work: use their share code outside the platform, then enters the RTW expiry date returned by that check into the date field. The date picker rejects today's date, past dates, and badly formatted entries.
Permanent path (EU Settlement Scheme or other permanent RTW): instead of a date, the fleet owner ticks "Permanent right to work (no expiry)".
The Next button enables once either a valid date or the checkbox is set. Cancel carries a tooltip. Entering a date and then clearing it reverts the checkbox label back to its default state.
Stage 4 - Submission and hand-off to attestation
Submitting the pop-up moves the driver to Review/Attest status. The expiry date or permanent flag entered here is sent back to Trustd via API, so Trustd and Exchange stay in sync.
Stage 5 - Where the result lands afterwards (display only)
Once verified, RTW shows as a read-only row in the Documents tab of the driver's Trustd Driver Card, alongside other compliance documents. Possible states shown there: verified (time-limited, with expiry date), verified (permanent), verified (British/Irish, no share code involved), or expired. There's no "not yet verified" state shown on this tab; an unverified driver simply isn't listed here yet, and the fleet owner needs to go back to Users/Drivers to action it.
Owner-drivers follow a separate path here: their RTW is verified directly in Trustd by TEG's own compliance officer, not by a fleet owner on Exchange. The result appears as a read-only row in their Business Documents tab, visible to other members viewing their profile, only once that internal verification has happened.
Stage 6 - What this actually changes: load allocation/reallocation
A driver cannot be allocated or reallocated a load unless they've reached View status (i.e. attestation is complete). Separately, Exchange runs its own check of RTW expiry (with a zero-day grace period) independent of what the Trustd Driver Card shows.
This shows up differently depending on where you're looking:
- A driver is already selected/allocated, and their RTW then expires: an error message appears "This driver is no longer available. Please select another driver" with the driver selector box outlined in red
- Using the New Load Form to allocate: an expired driver appears greyed out in the list.
- Using the (re)allocation form: an expired driver doesn't appear in the list at all.
Stage 7 - Exchange displays reminders: expiry banners and renewal
Two banners to keep the fleet owner informed:
RTW expiry banner: orange when a driver's RTW is within 14 days of expiry, red once it has expired. Fleet owners see a "Go to drivers list" CTA; owner-drivers see a "Go to Trustd" CTA. Either can be dismissed.
Attestation-readiness banner: separate banner telling the fleet owner which drivers are ready for attestation, with its own "Go to drivers list" CTA.
On the driver card itself, the View button greys out when the driver is non-compliant on RTW, or on any other document in Trustd. It isn't RTW-specific; RTW expiry (or never having verified RTW) is just one of the possible causes.
Renewal: once the driver submits a new share code via Trustd, no Verify RTW CTA reappears until Exchange has picked up the new code. Once it has, the driver's status resets to "Verify RTW" and the fleet owner repeats Stage 2 onward.
Why this matters for your business
Working with a driver who does not have a valid RTW in the UK can result in significant financial penalties for your business, even if you were not aware of the issue. Completing and recording Right to Work checks for every driver gives your fleet a clear audit trail and demonstrates that you have taken the steps required by law.
This process is designed to make that straightforward. If you have any questions about RTW requirements, we recommend speaking with your legal or HR adviser, or visiting GOV.UK for the latest guidance.
Need help?
If you have any questions about the driver management process or RTW verification, please raise a support ticket and our team will be happy to help.