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It has been a requirement that employers carry out right to work checks on all employees for nearly 30 years although the earlier regime worked differently from that in force today. We now have a further and significant change in place which extends the requirement to carry out right to work checks beyond traditional employer and employee relationships.
Businesses must now also carry out right to work checks on people engaged under a worker’s contract (including casual and zero-hours staff), on individual sub-contractors working within a contractual chain, and on service providers matched through online platforms. This applies to new engagements entered into from 1 October 2026. A civil penalty of up to £60,000 per worker can be imposed only where the individual did not have the right to do the work in question, either when they were engaged or at any point during the engagement (for example, if their permission expires). Even then, a business that carried out the required checks correctly, including any follow-up checks, will have a defence against the penalty.
The new rules also introduce “extended liability”. A business that delivers services to clients through sub-contractors or suppliers, or whose contracts allow workers to send a substitute, may be liable for illegal working further down the chain. To protect itself, the business must have a written statement of specified contractual terms, substitution controls and identity verification processes in place before the work begins. The Home Office has confirmed that supplier warranties alone will not be enough. The controls must work in practice.
If you are a sponsor licence holder, you should also be aware that the updated sponsor guidance (Appendix D, effective 8 October 2026) now requires you to keep evidence of right to work checks for everyone you are treated as employing under the extended rules, not just your sponsored workers. A failure here could be treated as a breach of your sponsor duties, and a civil penalty for illegal working can itself put your licence at risk.
The Home Office has published two documents setting out the current requirements, which you may find helpful:
- Employer’s guide to right to work checks: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checks-employers-guide
- Right to work checklist: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checklist
Businesses should bear in mind that this is a new and evolving area and further updates and clarifications are likely as the new rules take effect in practice.
What should businesses do now to remain compliant?
Now is a good time to review who works in or for your organisation, how they are engaged, and whether your contracts and onboarding processes meet the new requirements. We advise that you clearly document and record the steps you take to carry out this audit.
Please get in touch if you have any questions regarding the issues discussed in this article.
E: help@jma-hrlegal.co.uk / T: +44 (0)1252 821792
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