Free · Excel & Google Sheets
Free Right to Work Check Tracker (UK): Excel & Google Sheets
A free spreadsheet that logs every right to work check you do: who, when, which type of check and what you saw. Where someone has time-limited permission, it works out a follow-up date so the check is renewed before their permission ends. When someone leaves, it shows how long to keep the records.
In the file
5 sheets · 145 KB · opens in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice
- Start here
- Checks
- Dashboard
- Import to ExpiryEdge
- Lists
Prefer a plain list? The CSV (1 KB) has the same columns and example rows, without formulas or colours.
Preview
The tracker sheet, with example rows
This is the colour logic the spreadsheet uses. Move the date to see which rows turn amber or red next.
right-to-work-check-tracker-uk.xlsx
| Employee | Evidence seen | Permission ends | Follow-up check by | Days left | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example – Sam Placeholder | Online check: share code | 30 Nov 2026 | 30 Nov 2026 | 63 | Due ≤90 days |
| Example – Alex Sample | UK passport | ||||
| Example – Jo Example | eVisa (online check) | 14 Aug 2027 | 14 Aug 2027 | 320 | OK |
| Example – Chris Demo | Irish passport | ||||
| Example – Pat Sample | Online check: share code | 20 Oct 2026 | 20 Oct 2026 | 22 | Due ≤30 days |
1 due ≤30 days, 1 due ≤90 days, 1 OK. The example dates are fixed, so as real time passes more of them turn amber and red: that is the formula working.
How to use it in 3 steps
Clear the examples
Delete the rows that start with "Example –", or type over them.
Log each check on the day
Record the check type, the evidence you saw and the date. If the online check shows an end date, type it in. If there is no time limit, leave that column blank.
Act on the follow-up date
Rows turn amber, then red, as the follow-up date gets close. The Dashboard lists the next ten.
What’s inside
- Start here
- How to use it in three steps, the colour key and what every column means.
- Checks
- Right to work checks. Filters, dropdowns, frozen header and status colours, with formulas filled down 500 rows.
- Dashboard
- Counts by status and the next 10 dates, as of today.
- Import to ExpiryEdge
- The same rows in the ExpiryEdge bulk-import columns, filled by formula.
- Lists
- The options behind every dropdown. Add your own.
Open it in Google Sheets
There is no shared Google copy to request access to. You import the same file, so you own your copy from the start.
Download the .xlsx
Use the button above. It saves straight to your computer.
Import it into a blank Google Sheet
Open Google Sheets, create a blank spreadsheet, then choose File › Import › Upload and pick the file. Select "Replace spreadsheet".
Check the dates
Formulas, dropdowns and status colours carry over. If your Google account uses a different locale, dates show in that format, which is fine: they are real dates underneath.
Columns explained
Type in the input columns. Calculated columns fill themselves. Columns marked required are the ones the import sheet needs.
| Column | What to enter | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Employee | Full name as it appears on the right to work evidence. | Input · required |
| Job title | Role or department. | Input |
| Start date | First day of work. The check must be done before this. | Input |
| Check type | Manual document check, Home Office online check (share code) or a digital verification service provider. | Input |
| Evidence seen | For example "UK passport", "Online check: share code" or "eVisa". Expired BRP cards are not acceptable proof. | Input |
| Check date | The date you did the check (it appears on the online check result). | Input · required |
| Checked by | Who carried out the check. | Input |
| Permission ends | End date of time-limited permission to work, from the check result. Leave blank if there is no time limit: no follow-up check is needed. | Input |
| Lead time (days) | How many days before the date you want to start acting. Leave blank for 30. | Input |
| Follow-up check by | Calculated. Permission end date minus lead time: do the follow-up check before this. | Calculated |
| Days left | Calculated. Days until the date; negative once it has passed. | Calculated |
| Status | Calculated. Expired, Due ≤30 days, Due ≤90 days or OK. | Calculated |
| Leaving date | When employment ended, once it has. | Input |
| Keep records until | Calculated. Leaving date plus two years. The Home Office guide asks you to keep copies for the length of employment and two years afterwards. | Calculated |
| HR contact email | Who should be reminded. Becomes notification_email on import. | Input |
| Copy of check | Link to the dated copy or online check result in your HR system. | Input |
| Notes | Anything the next person needs to know. | Input |
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
For a handful of dates and one careful owner, this template is all you need. These are the signs it has become the wrong tool.
Sign 1
More than one person owns the dates
When several people add rows, dates get typed as text, copies drift apart and nobody is sure which file is current.
Sign 2
Reminders depend on someone opening the file
The status turns red whether or not anyone is looking. If the person who checks it is on leave, the date passes quietly.
Sign 3
You need to prove what happened
An audit, insurer or inspector may ask who was told, when, and where the certificate is. A spreadsheet does not keep that history.
When you would rather not remember
What this looks like when it runs itself
The same row, tracked for you: an owner, reminders at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days by email, SMS, WhatsApp, Slack or Teams, the document on file and a log of who did what. The "Import to ExpiryEdge" sheet in this template is already laid out for Bulk Import, so moving across is one upload.
Try it with your own dates, free for 14 days, no cardExpiryEdge · Tracked item
Right to work follow-up · Sam (care assistant)
ValidOwner
HR manager
Expires
30 Nov 2027
Reminders before expiry
90d
60d
30d
7d
Due
Right to work check tracker (UK): questions, answered
Anyone whose permission to work in the UK ends on a set date. British and Irish citizens, and people with settled status or indefinite leave, have no end date, so one check before they start is enough. For everyone else, put the end date in and the sheet gives you a follow-up-by date ahead of it.
The Home Office employer guide says to keep copies for the length of employment and for two years after the person leaves. Enter the leaving date and the sheet calculates the keep-until date, so you know when you can securely delete them.
Not an expired one. The Home Office stopped issuing biometric residence permits on 31 October 2024, and its guide says an expired BRP is not acceptable proof. Most people now prove their status online with a share code, so record "Online check: share code" as the evidence.
The guide describes three: a manual check of original documents, a Home Office online check using a share code, and a check through a certified digital verification service provider. Pick the one you used so you can show which method you relied on if you are ever asked.
Yes. Open a blank Google Sheet, choose File › Import › Upload, pick the .xlsx and select "Replace spreadsheet". The formulas use only functions that Google Sheets, Excel and LibreOffice all support (no FILTER, SORT or XLOOKUP), so the status colours, dropdowns and dashboard carry over. The Excel table styling becomes a plain range with filters.
No. A spreadsheet only changes when someone opens it, so the colours are only as good as your habit of checking. Put a weekly calendar slot on it, or move the follow-up checks into a tool that sends the reminders for you.
It is the same rows laid out in the ExpiryEdge bulk-import columns (name, expiry_date, type and so on), filled in by formula. You can ignore it. If you ever move the list into ExpiryEdge, upload the file in Bulk Import and pick that sheet, or save the sheet as CSV. Nothing is sent anywhere by the file itself.
It is free to download, use, change and share inside your organisation. There is no sign-up and no email needed: the download starts when you click.
A free template, not legal advice. It tracks the dates you enter; it does not decide which rules apply to you. Check requirements against the official source for your situation.