Right-to-work screening redaction is the removal of citizenship and origin data from an early recruitment file. Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 s.15 gives an employer a statutory excuse against a civil penalty if it runs a compliant check, while s.21, as widened by Immigration Act 2016 s.34, makes it a criminal offence to employ someone with no right to work where the employer has reasonable cause to believe that. Equality Act 2010 s.13 separately bars treating a candidate differently at the sifting stage because of an assumption about their nationality. anonym.plus marks those markers on your device, so the early record holds no protected trait before the proper check stage.
When this applies
A form may state citizenship, visa type, or birthplace before the actual right-to-work check under s.15 has even happened, tempting a sifting decision based on an assumption s.13 would treat as race discrimination. You strip those entries so the trait cannot bias an early decision.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the file in anonym.plus on your device.
- Built-in OCR reads a scanned passport or share-code page.
- The app marks citizenship, visa, and birthplace fields.
- Confirm each marking and keep role-related items.
- Black out the confirmed protected markers.
- Save the cleaned file locally.
What you need to provide
- The file (PDF, DOCX, or scan).
- An operator (Redact suits these markers).
- Optional batch for many files at once.
PII entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Citizenship | NRP | status cue → [ORIGIN] |
| Names | PERSON | applicant Sato → [APPLICANT] |
| Identifiers | UK_PASSPORT | passport 123456789 → [PASSPORT] |
| Location | LOCATION | country of birth → [LOCATION] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | visa expiry → [DATE] |
| Reference | NATIONAL_ID | share code → [SHARE_CODE] |
Compliance achieved
- Sits alongside the statutory-excuse check under Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 s.15.
- Recognises the offence in s.21, widened by Immigration Act 2016 s.34, that the compliant check is meant to avoid.
- Reduces the race-discrimination risk in Equality Act 2010 s.13 from an early citizenship assumption.
- Offline work keeps those entries off the cloud.
Anonymise right-to-work screening files offline — see plans & start free →
Limitations & cautions
The 2006 Act, as widened in 2016, requires a compliant check to keep the statutory excuse against a civil penalty or the offence in s.21. This app removes protected fields beforehand; it does not run or evidence the check. Complete the proper check separately.
Frequently asked questions
Does this replace the right-to-work check?
No. The statutory excuse under s.15 comes from running the actual check at the proper stage, on the prescribed documents. anonym.plus only removes citizenship and origin fields from earlier files.
What changed with the Immigration Act 2016?
Section 34 widened the offence in s.21 from knowingly employing someone with no right to work to also cover having reasonable cause to believe it, raising the bar for employers to get the check right.
Why hide citizenship before the check stage?
Equality Act 2010 s.13 bars treating a candidate differently at sifting because of an assumption about nationality. Stripping the marker keeps that decision clear of the risk before the lawful check ever happens.