Contractors, write to your MP to support Digital Hiring – template

Whether your local MP is a Conservative or not, below is a template for you to use to write to them in support of ‘Digital Hiring’ – shorthand for Digital Right to Work checks staying digital, writes Keith Rosser, group director at Reed and chair of the Better Hiring Institute.

The first template should be used if your constituency MP is a Conservative, and if they are, we recommend you attach this ‘Briefing’ (which is based on a meeting of an affiliate group to the Conservatives). Please note, this template has a space to insert your own experience.

The second template should be used if your constituency MP is not a Conservative, and while the briefing should not therefore be attached, you may wish to draw on its contents and include any points that resonate with you in the template, so as to personalise it. Please note, this template has a space to insert your own experience.

Many thanks contractors for your support. Remind yourself here as to why Digital Hiring is the only way forward for the UK, to lead us out of covid and into the 4th Industrial Revolution.

1. Letter to MP (with Briefing attached)

To be used if your local MP is a Conservative (N.B. Don't forget to attach the briefing)

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Dear ‘[INSERT NAME]’ MP of the Conservative party,

My name is ‘[INSERT YOUR NAME]’ and I am a constituent of yours.  I live at ‘[INSERT YOUR FULL HOME ADDRESS].’

I am a contractor working in the UK and am writing to ask for your support to change the law regarding Right to Work checks. I attended a meeting recently of the Conservative Science and Technology Forum (an affiliate group of the Conservative Party) and attach a copy of the brief which was produced. This clearly raises four policy points for the Government:

Key policy points:

1.    The Conservative Government should immediately extend the temporary use of online right to work checks whilst it consults with HR, recruitment and technology professionals on a permanent digital ID scheme.

2.    The Conservative Government must give parity to the use of online digital ID checking and verification services alongside paper / face to face systems that it has mandated to date.

3.    The Conservative Government should continue the modernisation of right to work checks announced in December 2018 (https://www.ein.org.uk/news/home-office-announces-changes-modernise-right-work-checks) to ensure digital ID schemes can be used permanently from mid-2022 onwards in place of paper-based and face-to-face checks.

I would very much appreciate your support in writing to the ministers responsible, Chris Philp and Kevin Foster, to ask them to make these changes with immediate effect. The only way that we can get people back to work quickly is if these changes are effected. ‘[INSERT RELEVANT STORY ABOUT YOUR LOCAL AREA OR EXPERIENCE IF POSSIBLE].’ I look forward to your support on this matter and would be delighted to brief you at greater length if you are interested.  

Yours sincerely

‘[INSERT YOUR NAME]’

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2. Letter to MP (no need to attach the Briefing)

To be used if your local MP is NOT a Conservative.

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Dear ‘[INSERT NAME]’ MP

My name is ‘[INSERT YOUR NAME]’ and I am a constituent of yours.  I live at ‘[INSERT YOUR FULL HOME ADDRESS].’

I am a contractor working in the UK and am writing to ask for your support to change the law regarding Right to Work checks. These are mandatory and must be performed in person. This brings in delays to the system in terms of getting people back into work quickly, stops people looking for jobs away from their home area and inadvertently builds in the risk of criminal behaviour. This is through document theft or counterfeiting to obtain fraudulent ID documents such as passports.  

The Government did modernise right to work checks in response to Covid and digitised some of the process. This has lessened the processing time by around 75% and there have been no reports of security breaches anywhere in the UK. As a consequence there are three policy points which I would like to make to you and ask that you write to Chris Philp, the minister responsible for this area, to support me. These are

Key policy points:

1.    The Government should immediately extend the temporary use of online right to work checks whilst it consults with HR, recruitment and technology professionals on a permanent digital ID scheme.

2.    The Government must give parity to the use of online digital ID checking and verification services alongside paper / face to face systems that it has mandated to date.

3.    The Government should continue the modernisation of right to work checks announced in December 2018 (https://www.ein.org.uk/news/home-office-announces-changes-modernise-right-work-checks) to ensure digital ID schemes can be used permanently from mid-2022 onwards in place of paper-based and face-to-face checks.

​I would very much appreciate your support in writing to the minister responsible, Chris Philp and Kevin Foster, to ask them to make these changes with immediate effect. The only way that we can get people back to work quickly is if these changes are effected. ‘[INSERT RELEVANT STORY ABOUT YOUR LOCAL AREA OR EXPERIENCE IF POSSIBLE].’ I look forward to your support on this matter and would be delighted to brief you at greater length if you are interested.  

Yours sincerely,

‘[INSERT YOUR NAME]’

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