Right to work checks from 1 October 2026: What businesses need to know 5 August 2026

For many employers, right to work checks have traditionally been regarded as a recruitment and onboarding requirement. From 1 October 2026, that position changes significantly. New legislation will extend immigration compliance obligations beyond direct employers and into labour supply chains, subcontracting arrangements and certain platform-based business models, exposing organisations to risks that may previously have sat outside their compliance framework.

The changes stem from the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 and are reflected in the Home Office’s draft Employer’s Guide to Right to Work Checks. Whilst the established methods of conducting right to work checks remain largely unchanged, the range of organisations expected to undertake those checks, and the circumstances in which liability can arise, will expand considerably.

Businesses should avoid treating these reforms as simply another update to recruitment procedures.The reforms require organisations to take a wider view of workforce compliance and consider risks that may arise across their labour supply chains, including in areas traditionally overseen by procurement, operations and commercial teams.

A Broader Definition of “Employer”

The most significant change is not how checks are carried out, rather who becomes responsible for carrying them out.

Under the current framework, right to work obligations mainly apply where there is a direct employment relationship. From October 2026, the legislation widens the concept of an employer for immigration compliance purposes to capture a range of working arrangements that have become increasingly common across the labour market.  In practical terms, organisations that have never considered themselves responsible for right to work compliance may now find themselves subject to immigration-related duties and potential penalties.

The new rules are designed to cover situations where individuals provide labour through:

• worker contracts rather than contracts of employment;
• certain subcontracting arrangements;
• labour supply chains; and
• some online platforms that connect service providers with customers.

This reflects a recognition by the Home Office that the modern workforce is no longer limited to traditional employment models. Organisations are increasingly reliant on outsourced services, contingent labour, self-employed contractors and platform-based work, creating compliance gaps that the government believes the existing framework does not adequately address.

The Introduction of Extended Liability

Perhaps the most notable aspect of the new regime is the introduction of ‘extended liability’.

Historically, responsibility for illegal working generally sat with the organisation directly employing the worker. From October 2026, liability may also arise for parties elsewhere in the contractual chain.

Examples include:

• businesses that subcontract work to another organisation that supplies labour;
• organisations that provide workers to fulfil contracts with third parties;
• online matching platforms that facilitate work between service providers and customers; and
• arrangements where an individual is allowed to send a substitute worker to perform services on their behalf.

This means businesses can no longer assume immigration compliance is exclusively the responsibility of the entity directly engaging the individual. Responsibility may now extend to organisations that sit further up the supply chain if they cannot demonstrate that appropriate safeguards were in place.

How the Statutory Excuse Will Work in the New Framework

The principle of obtaining a statutory excuse remains central to the regime.

A business that follows the prescribed checking process can establish a defence against a civil penalty if a worker is later found not to have permission to work. However, where extended liability applies, businesses may need to demonstrate much more than simply conducting an immigration check.

The draft guidance places particular emphasis on:

Contractual Controls

Businesses will need clear contractual arrangements: contracts should clearly allocate responsibility for right to work compliance, information sharing and audit rights, helping businesses demonstrate appropriate oversight of third-party labour arrangements.

Substitution Arrangements

Where contracts allow one worker to substitute another person, organisations must have effective mechanisms for controlling and monitoring those substitutions, and simply relying on contractual wording will not be sufficient.

Identity Verification