25/09/2026

From 1 October 2026, the UK’s Right to Work framework will undergo one of its most significant developments in recent years. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 broadens responsibility for immigration compliance beyond direct employers, creating new liabilities throughout the labour supply chain and increasing the importance of robust due diligence processes.

While much of the attention surrounding right to work compliance has traditionally focused on recruitment processes and immigration status checks for employees, the forthcoming reforms extend far beyond the conventional employer-employee relationship.

In broad terms, the reforms focus on two key areas.

1. First, they significantly expand the categories of individuals for whom organisations may be required to carry out right to work checks.
2. Secondly, they place increased emphasis on how those checks are conducted, particularly in relation to avoiding unlawful discrimination.

Before the changes take effect, employers should familiarise themselves with three key Home Office documents:

• Draft Employers’ Guide to Right to Work Checks (11 September 2026);
• Draft Code of Practice for Employers: Avoiding Unlawful Discrimination While Preventing Illegal Working (30 June 2026); and
• Draft Code of Practice on Preventing Illegal Working: Right to Work Scheme (30 June 2026).

Although these documents remain in draft form, they are expected to become operational from 1 October 2026 and provide a clear indication of the Government’s intended approach.

Two Codes, Two Different Purposes

One point that employers should understand is that the two Codes of Practice serve different purposes.

The Code on Preventing Illegal Working focuses on immigration compliance. It explains what checks employers must carry out, the acceptable methods of verification, the circumstances in which follow-up checks are required, and how organisations can establish a statutory excuse against civil penalties.

By contrast, the Code on Avoiding Unlawful Discrimination focuses on equality obligations. It provides guidance on how right to work checks should be conducted in a manner that does not discriminate against individuals on the grounds of race, nationality, ethnic origin or perceived immigration status.

In practical terms, employers must now ensure they are compliant in both respects. Carrying out insufficient checks may expose an organisation to illegal working penalties, while carrying out checks selectively or inconsistently may expose it to discrimination complaints and tribunal claims.

Expansion of the Definition of “Employer”

The most significant reform is not the method of checking right to work status, which remains broadly unchanged, but rather the expansion of who is responsible for carrying out those checks.

Historically, responsibility generally sat with the direct employer. From October 2026, the legislation adopts a broader approach which looks beyond contractual labels and examines how labour is actually supplied and utilised.

In a traditional employment relationship, little changes. Employers will continue to be responsible for carrying out checks on their own employees.

However, where organisations engage self-employed contractors to perform work for third-party clients, the position becomes considerably more complex. The organisation engaging those contractors may now be treated as the employer for right to work purposes, even where the individual is not an employee in the conventional sense.

For example, where Company A secures a contract from Company B and then engages self-employed subcontractors to perform that work, Company A may be responsible for carrying out the relevant right to work checks on those subcontractors. Previously, many organisations would not have considered themselves subject to right to work obligations in these circumstances.

Increased Liability in Labour Supply Chains

The reforms also create greater exposure within labour supply chains.

Agency workers and individuals employed by another business will generally continue to have their right to work checks conducted by their direct employer. However, the legislation recognises that modern labour arrangements often involve multiple layers of contracting and subcontracting.

As a result, organisations further down the supply chain may face liability in certain circumstances where illegal working is identified and the labour is being supplied through complex contractual arrangements.

This means that businesses can no longer assume that compliance is solely the responsibility of the organisation immediately supplying the worker. Businesses relying heavily on contractors, outsourced service providers, labour agencies or subcontracting arrangements should review contractual responsibilities and due diligence procedures carefully.

Implications for the Gig Economy and Digital Platforms

Another notable development is the extension of obligations to certain digital and platform-based business models.

Where work is allocated through a matching platform and carried out for a third-party customer who contracts with that platform, responsibility for conducting right to work checks may rest with the platform itself.

This reflects the Government’s wider intention to bring gig economy and platform-based labour arrangements within the scope of the illegal working regime. Organisations operating online marketplaces, service platforms or app-based work allocation systems should therefore assess whether they fall within the expanded definitions contained in the legislation.

Substance Over Form

A recurring theme throughout the draft guidance is that contractual labels are not determinative.

Simply describing an individual as self-employed, a contractor or a freelancer will not automatically remove right to work obligations. Instead, the Home Office will look at the reality of the arrangement, including:

• How the work is sourced;
• How the labour is supplied;
• Who ultimately benefits from the work being performed; and
• The overall structure of the engagement.

Employers should therefore avoid relying solely on contractual terminology and instead assess the practical reality of their labour arrangements.

Avoiding Unlawful Discrimination

Alongside the expansion of liability, the draft discrimination Code reinforces the importance of applying right to work checks consistently.

One of the clearest messages from the Home Office is that employers should carry out checks on all recruits, regardless of nationality or perceived immigration status. Employers should not make assumptions based on a person’s accent, appearance, ethnic origin, surname, nationality or perceived immigration background.

Recruitment decisions should continue to be based on merit, and organisations should ensure that any right to work verification process is applied uniformly throughout recruitment and onboarding.

This is particularly important given increasing concerns around sponsorship and immigration costs. While employers may legitimately consider whether they are willing or able to sponsor a visa where sponsorship is required, they should ensure that recruitment processes do not inadvertently disadvantage individuals based on assumptions about their immigration status.

What Should Employers Be Doing Now?

Although the changes do not take effect until 1 October 2026, organisations should begin preparations now. In particular, employers should:

• Review existing right to work policies and procedures.
• Map labour supply chains and identify areas where subcontractors, contractors or platform workers are engaged.
• Clarify contractual responsibilities with agencies, labour providers and subcontractors.
• Audit onboarding procedures to ensure checks are applied consistently.
• Train managers and recruitment teams on discrimination risks.
• Review record-keeping processes to ensure evidence of compliance can be retained.

The reforms represent one of the most significant expansions of the Right to Work regime since its introduction. Businesses that have traditionally viewed right to work compliance as solely an HR issue affecting direct employees may find that they now have responsibilities extending far beyond their own workforce.

Civil penalties remain substantial, with fines of up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach and up to £60,000 per illegal worker for repeat breaches. Given the expansion of liability throughout labour supply chains, employers should review not only their own compliance arrangements but also the practices of contractors, agencies and labour providers on whom they rely.