Wednesday 15th June – HooYu has been granted government digital identity provider certification to provide ID verification services for Right to Work, Right to Rent and criminal records checks – making HooYu one of just two identity services providers in the UK to have achieved this highly anticipated, high-profile government trust mark.
The certification – known as the Digital Identity Certification Scheme (DICS) – was awarded following a comprehensive audit of the effectiveness of HooYu identity verification methodologies and a detailed review of HooYu governance, systems, controls and policies.
In accordance with the government’s Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF) the certification shows that HooYu also meet standards required by the UK government for other sector-specific trust schemes, such as the TISA digital identity pilot.
The certification as an identity service provider is a UK government trust stamp providing public sector departments, businesses, consumers and citizens with confidence that technology and techniques can be trusted across a range of important measures such as security controls and how users’ personal information is protected.
An important step forward
In April 2022, legislation came into effect allowing UK employers, landlords and lettings agents, for the first time ever, to use the services of digital identity service providers (IDSPs) when carrying out identity verification checks.
The legislation followed a review of temporary measures put in place to support remote screening during the Covid-19 pandemic. The review drew an overwhelmingly positive response from employers, letting agents and landlords to the new digital options.
“Enabling the use of Identity Document Verification Technology for right to work, right to rent and DBS checks will help to support long-term post pandemic working practices, accelerate the recruitment and onboarding process, improve employee mobility and enhance the security and integrity of the checks. The technology utilised across the identity process removes human error in terms of identifying fraudulent documents or inaccuracies and will support the Home Office, DBS and DCMS in driving improvements…”
Identity document validation technology in the right to work and right to rent schemes, and DBS pre-employment checking, jointly published by the Home Office, Disclosure and Barring Service, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 27 December 2021
Cultivating a more convenient, accurate and secure way to verify identity
At HooYu, we know there are many advantages to the adoption of digital identity verification technology including greater consistency and accuracy in identity verification checks, greater security, reduction in fraud risk and, for those undertaking screening, a quicker and more convenient way of working. The government has also stressed that using a certified IDSP affords relying parties (those whose responsibility it is to screen candidates) a continuous statutory excuse.
Until now, checking a person’s right to rent, right to work, or DBS status has been a mostly manual process, which can be laborious and time-consuming. It also places the burden of responsibility for detecting fraudulent identity documents onto business owners.
The recent government consultation found that platforms such as HooYu are already using Identification Document Verification Technology (IDVT) highly successfully to battle fraud in regulated sectors such as banking and gambling and that there was no reason why the benefits shouldn’t now be offered to other sectors.
Gareth Narinesingh, Head of Digital Identity at HooYu, commented, “Digital identity is at the heart of the UK government’s Digital Strategy [as published this week] and HooYu’s certification as an identity service provider means that businesses and consumers can trust what we do and the way we do it. We have worked tirelessly to build world-class identity solutions and being certified in this way is testament to our expertise and product capability.”
If your organisation is required to undertake right to rent, right to work or DBS checks, get in touch for more information and a demonstration of how the HooYu platform enables greater secure, convenience and accuracy in your identity verification processes.
