Right To Work Checks Are Changing: Is Your Extended Workforce Ready?

From 1 October 2026, right to work compliance will no longer be confined to traditional employees. Employer right to work obligations will extend to a wider range of working arrangements including contractors, consultants, agency workers, individual subcontractors and people obtaining work through online platforms. Consequently, a person who is not on your payroll could create the same immigration compliance risk as an employee. Businesses that cannot identify who is working for them or who checked their work permission may face significant financial and operational consequences.

This will turn right to work compliance from a largely HR and direct-employment issue into a broader workforce and supply-chain risk. Responsibility will not stop with the organisation that contracts directly with the individual, leaving businesses with complex labour supply chains exposed in respect of workers they have not engaged themselves.

The financial consequences of getting it wrong are significant, with civil penalties of up to £45,000 for a first breach and £60,000 for a repeat breach for each illegal worker. Serious failures may also result in reputational damage, criminal liability and consequences for a business’s sponsor licence.

Businesses should not wait until the 1 October implementation date to assess their exposure. Those relying on contractors, agencies, subcontractors or other non-payroll labour should review their workforce structures, supply chains and contractual arrangements now.

Key considerations include:

• Do you know who is responsible for checking every individual working within your business?
• As a matter of best practice, businesses should carry out right to work checks on anyone working within the business and on site to satisfy compliance obligations. How can your business adapt existing right to work check processes to include the extended workforce now in scope?
• Do your supplier and contractor agreements clearly demonstrate the relationship between your business and each worker engaged down the labour supply chain?
• Are HR, procurement, legal and operational teams able to identify when a check is required?

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.