Been working at this company for 4 years and now they have asked everyone to bring their passports in to have a copy made which they are going to keep in a safe etc - apparently its some new legislation that all companies are doing, any companies that dont comply risk being fined?!
Anyone else heard of this? I really dont wanna give them a scan of my passport! :crazy:
Nope - only require passports as a way of ID when taking on a new client. its a part of the money laundering regulations. But from my employers - nope.
:crazy:
Just tell them you haven’t got one.
my employer wanted a copy as they said for proof i can travel when they send me off to exotic places
yet to happen though 
And what if you don’t have a passport, not everyone who has UK residency has a passport … you can’t give them a copy
I feel it’s part of employing illegals (unbeknown to the company), so many are being found within the work force the employers have to cover their backsides.
Same has happened to my daughter Dee recently. She works part time for Tesco whilst at Uni & everyone had to show a copy of their passport for company records. 
if it keeps the illegals out
they thought i was taking the **** when i showed them my irish passport
Ive never heard of anything like that and i work for a huge motor company with many different cultures/ethnic origins? We would have been one of the first to have instigated this sort of thing, if it were true? I havent been asked for it, and doubt i would give it either…what they gonna be fined for? How can they fine a company for not having their employees personal items like their passport…do they want birth certificate and blood group too?
Understand the illegals bit but as i say, we havent been asked here…
I’m guessing someone who works there is a Daily Mail reader and has read about firms being fined for employing Illegals and its a knee jerk reaction.:w00t:
As sincere said, it’s probably for money laundering regulations and for employer/employees to avoid “ghost” employees (which is of course, a form of money laundering).This would usually apply to new employees, not long standing existing ones. Depends on Co policy though, usually easier to apply to all staff rather than single out a few. Avoids discrimination that way.
I’ve had to supply my passport to my current employer as well as the previous one, it’s actually the new legislation, so by law every employee has to supply a photo ID, some would accept a driving licence, but for companies who may require you to do some international travel, then a passport is a must.
I understand that even recruitment agencies ask for this now before introducing candidates to companies.
Just spoke to Dee and apparently an illegal immigrant was found working there so they checked everybody - apparently a few more left after that
"TESCO, EVERY LITTLE HELPS " 
If I can chip in here…
…it’s most likely to do with proving that you’re an EU resident and/or have the right to work here. It’s common practise (try going to any employment agency, or starting a new job) to have to prove your right to work here.
There are fairly bad penalties for employers who don’t check this and are found to be employing people who don’t have the right to work here.
But this has only been hitting headlines relatively recently and so I imagine it’s a hot topic that your employer has picked up on just now.
They will need to prove the status of ALL employees, not just new ones, so I wouldn’t feel discriminated against.
Whether they’ve got a right to KEEP A COPY of your passport (as opposed to just seeing it and checking it once) is another question, and would probably come under the data protection act. (As a mere layman) I’d assume they’d got no right to keep a copy of the data, but I may well be wrong on that score.
Hope that helps
The law has tightend up progressivly over recent years and now employers can suffer sever penalties for employing people illegally. This means they have a legal obligation to be certain what their employees nationality, residence and employabiliy status is. If you have a problem with this I suggest you write to the letters pages of the right-wing press.
It still doesn’t get over the fact that not every British Citizen has a passport or a photo driving licence
What do you think compulsory ID cards is all about then?
Yes, our company asks for your passport. And as M-Datona said, all agencies ask for this before they introduce you to clients.
The reason for this is to establish a persons right to work in the UK. Note the following - I’m not sure of the documents included in List A and b but they are available elsewhere.
Ensuring your workers are eligible to work in the UKWhen and how to check documents and how long to keep themIf you wish to establish a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty, you must carry out document checks before taking on the worker.
Therefore, you should ask prospective workers to provide specified original documents before they start work, eg you could ask:
shortlisted applicants to bring the appropriate document(s) when they come for an interview
the successful applicant to provide the appropriate document(s) before making an unconditional job offerAcceptable documents must be from one of two lists - List A or B. You can <A onclick=“p=window.open(‘http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers/preventingillegalworking/’, ‘bgExternalwwwbusinesslinkgovuk’);p.focus();” href=“http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers/preventingillegalworking/” target=bgExternalwwwbusinesslinkgovuk>find guidance on preventing illegal working on the UK Border Agency website.
When you receive the document(s), you should:
check that any photographs and birth dates on the documents match the appearance of the applicant
check information in the job application against the documents produced to ensure the details match up
satisfy yourself that the documents are valid, genuine, belong to the holder and have not been tampered withIn order to avoid being accused of racial discrimination, treat all applicants in exactly the same way.
Keep a record of relevant documents you are shown, either by photocopying or scanning, in a format which cannot be subsequently altered, such as CD-R
Hope that helps
