Why this exists
Doing it and proving it are two different jobs.
Almost every employer who fails an inspection did the work. What they could not do was produce the record, on the day, showing when it happened and who did it. An inspection cannot tell work you did not do from work you cannot show.
Four ways a complete file becomes an incomplete one.
The record was never dated
A passport photocopy in a folder does not show when the check was made, by whom, or what the online service said. The check may have been faultless. The evidence is not.
Here: everything carries who and when, and the framework version in force, written when the record is created.
The field was overwritten
A worker moves and the address is updated. The duty is a history of contact details, kept up to date, not the latest value.
Here: a change writes a new entry and closes the old one. A correction is recorded differently from a change.
Nobody signed for it
Telling staff their rights is a duty for licensed sponsors. Few can show a named person received it on a named date.
Here: each person confirms receipt, and what is stored is the person, the moment and a fingerprint of what they were shown.
It was kept, then quietly binned
Retention rules do not all run to one clock. A tidy-up on the wrong clock removes the only proof you had.
Here: every record carries every clock that applies and keeps the longest. Nothing is deleted automatically, or while a dispute or investigation is open.
What an inspection actually asks for.
Evidence a right to work check was made, and when. A history of contact details, not just the current address. A record of absences. Evidence staff were told about their rights at work. Recruitment evidence, where the route required it. Payslips and proof the money reached the named person.
Review your current records.
Fifteen minutes with whoever chases the paperwork is usually enough to find the two or three things that would not survive a visit.