Expansion of the UK right to work regime: What employers should be doing now

UK businesses should be preparing for a significant widening of the right to work compliance regime, expected to take effect in October 2026. The changes form part of the government’s broader strategy to tackle illegal working and will place greater compliance responsibility on businesses across a much wider range of working arrangements.

At present, right to work obligations are principally focused on direct employees. Employers must check an individual’s immigration status before they start work, ensuring that they are permitted to work in the UK and to carry out the role in question. Where checks are completed correctly and consistently, they can provide a statutory excuse against civil penalties if illegal working is later identified.

However, the forthcoming changes under the UK Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 are expected to extend those obligations well beyond the traditional employment relationship. Although aspects of the government’s legislative programme could evolve following political developments, there is currently no indication that these expanded right to work requirements will be delayed or withdrawn.

Wider categories of workers brought into scope

The new regime is expected to require right to work checks for a broader range of individuals who provide labour or services to a business. This may include:

• self-employed individuals
• contractors and sub-contractors
• freelancers
• agency workers
• consultants
• gig economy workers providing services to customers through or for a business
• partners in limited liability partnerships

This marks a notable shift in the compliance burden. The policy objective appears to be aimed not only at preventing illegal working, but also at addressing exploitation in less formal or more flexible labour models, including platform-based and gig economy arrangements.

Practical impact for employers

For many organisations, the changes will require a detailed review of existing onboarding, procurement and workforce engagement processes. HR teams may need to identify which individuals fall within the new rules, carry out compliant checks, retain appropriate evidence and ensure that records can withstand Home Office scrutiny.

The operational implications should not be underestimated. Businesses may need to map their workforce and contractor population, update systems, train relevant teams and ensure that HR, procurement, legal and operational functions are aligned. Given the potential financial, criminal and reputational consequences of non-compliance, this is an issue which is likely to warrant senior leadership and Board-level oversight.

The penalties for getting right to work compliance wrong are already significant. Civil penalties can currently reach up to £45,000 for a first breach and £60,000 for repeated breaches where an employer has not carried out a valid right to work check. In more serious cases, knowingly employing an individual who does not have permission to work, or having reasonable cause to believe that they do not, can result in criminal sanctions, including an unlimited fine and imprisonment.

For sponsor licence holders, the risks are particularly acute. Failures in right to work compliance can lead to licence revocation, which may result in sponsored workers losing their immigration permission and the business being unable to sponsor overseas workers in the future. This can create serious disruption to recruitment, workforce planning and business continuity.

Increased enforcement risk

Employers should also be alive to the Home Office’s increasingly data-led approach to enforcement. Compliance failures are no longer likely to be identified only through physical site visits. The Home Office is making greater use of digital records and data matching, including cross-checking information held by HMRC against immigration records.

This means that discrepancies or gaps in right to work processes may be identified more quickly and with less warning. In practice, even relatively small irregularities could trigger investigation or enforcement action. As the regime expands to cover a wider workforce population, businesses will need to be able to evidence a clear and consistent compliance approach.

Steps businesses should take now

Employers should use the period before October 2026 to prepare. Key steps include:

• reviewing current workforce engagement models to identify which categories of workers may fall within the expanded regime
• creating a decision-making framework for determining when right to work checks are required
• reviewing arrangements with suppliers, agencies and contractors to ensure appropriate compliance obligations flow through the supply chain
• updating supplier, agency and contractor agreements to include right to work obligations and suitable indemnity protections, subject to employment law advice
• ensuring procurement teams understand the new requirements when negotiating services agreements;
• reviewing onboarding systems, HR technology and recordkeeping processes
• training HR teams, recruitment teams and hiring managers on the expanded regime and the need to conduct checks in a non-discriminatory way
• paying particular attention to arrangements involving sub-contractors or substitution rights
• conducting a mock audit of current right to work processes to identify gaps before the new regime takes effect
• maintaining clear, complete and accessible records to demonstrate compliance

Further guidance expected

Further detail is expected to be set out in a code of practice, which should hopefully clarify some of the more complex issues, including how liability will operate in supply chains and multi-party working arrangements.

In the meantime, employers should not wait for final guidance before taking action. The direction of travel is clear: right to work compliance is becoming broader, more complex and more closely scrutinised. Businesses that take proactive steps now will be better placed to manage risk, evidence compliance and respond effectively if challenged by the Home Office.

Date published: 27 August 2026