Simplified visa condition management

About the Business

EG Group is a global powerhouse in the convenience retail industry, spanning over 6000 sites across North America, Europe, and Australia. Since breaking into the Australian market in 2019, EG has rapidly expanded, and now operates more than 520 fuel and convenience sites across the country. EG’s Australian operations have become a major player in the sector, and the company now employs over 4,300 people.

Pain Point

With rapid growth comes complexity. Of EG’s 4,300 employees in Australia, roughly a quarter are on visas, with a significant number on student and graduate visas. Managing this group presents unique challenges, as student visa holders are subject to strict work-hour limitations. International students are typically restricted to working a maximum of 48 hours per fortnight during academic terms, and full-time work is allowed during study breaks. Some students arrive in Australia with their families, whose members can also work legally, but have different visa conditions limiting employment.

Managing a growing workforce with various visa types is no small task. Any changes or cancellations in these visas can leave the company at risk of non-compliance. In an environment where the Australian government is increasingly tightening immigration regulations and employing tools like Single Touch Payroll to match data between the ATO and the DHA, EG needed a way to stay ahead of the curve.

Operating a lean central HR team results in manually tracking and updating visa conditions nearly impossible. EG’s Talent Acquisition Team understood that administrative and reputational risks associated with non-compliance were not an option. They needed a smarter solution to remain on top of ever-evolving visa conditions and compliance regulations.

Solution

Recognising these challenges, Head of Talent Acquisition, Janille, and her team turned to CheckWorkRights for a tailored compliance solution. The first step was an upload of EG Group’s existing employee data into the CheckWorkRights system. Within minutes, all VEVO checks were complete and the team had a clean set of right to work data available. This effectively gave a baseline of compliance, confidence in the results and detailed region and site specific reporting for ease of management.

A seamless workflow from CWR was introduced to cover new hires. As soon as candidates are added into EG’s system, CheckWorkRights sends them a secure link to their personal MyCheck dashboard. There, new employees submit legally required declarations of citizenship and upload key documents for evidence of citizenship; passports, travel documents, immicards, or birth/citizenship certificates and photo ID. For any foreign citizen employees identified in this process, CheckWorkRights’ VEVO integration with the Department of Home Affairs instantly verifies their visa status, providing real-time updates straight from the source.

Automated ongoing VEVO checks are completed for all Foreign Citizens throughout the employee lifecycle to point of termination or transition through to Australian Citizenship.

EG’s HR team quickly had their hands on a powerful, centralised system that monitors and updates visa information daily. Segmented reporting delivers detailed insights into each employee’s visa conditions directly to areas of the business that need access to that information, allowing EG to plan rosters efficiently and avoid non compliance.

Result

For EG, the results were transformative. Previously, the team had to grapple with understanding the nuances of visa conditions on their own, a task that can require legal advice from external Registered Migration Agents. 

Now, with CheckWorkRights’ clear visa condition details and updates that are specifically mapped against the relevant right to work legislation, EG’s HR team is equipped with everything they need to make informed and efficient decisions around hiring and rostering. Ultimately, EG was able to use CheckWorkRights to upskill their Shared Services to use the system, taking the pressure off the recruitment and employee relations teams.

“We employ a lot of visa holders with conditions that are difficult to keep track of and understand. The CheckWorkRights dashboard takes the burden of understanding away and frees up our team’s time.” said Janille.

The peace of mind that comes from having the system directly linked to VEVO means EG doesn’t have to second-guess compliance. The system is reliable, automated, and scalable, making it easy for EG to continue expanding its workforce without the worry of falling out of line with immigration laws.

By partnering with CheckWorkRights, EG has turned what could have been a major compliance headache into an opportunity for smooth, confident growth that empowers their teams to focus on what really matters: running a successful retail business that is integral to keeping Australia moving with food and fuel.

Ready to see how CheckWorkRights can save you time? Book a demo today.