Right to work changes from October 2026: what employers need to do now

Changes to the UK’s right to work regime come into force on 1 October 2026, widening the types of working arrangements that may require checks and creating new considerations for businesses using contractors, agency workers and other forms of flexible labour.

For employers, right to work compliance can no longer be viewed as simply part of the recruitment process for traditional employees. Businesses should consider how people work for them, the contractual arrangements involved and whether their existing processes provide adequate protection under the new rules.

With civil penalties for employing someone illegally reaching up to £60,000 per worker, businesses should review their arrangements before the changes take effect.

If you are unsure how the right to work changes affect your business, contact our solicitors for advice on your obligations and the steps you should take.

What is changing on 1 October 2026?

Employers are already required to carry out prescribed right to work checks before employing someone to establish that they have permission to carry out the work in question.

From 1 October, the right to work scheme will extend beyond traditional contracts of employment to include:

• Individuals engaged under a worker’s contract.
• Individual subcontractors.
• Certain arrangements involving online matching services that connect individual service providers with clients or customers.

Not every self-employed arrangement is caught. Individuals who are genuinely self-employed, operating in business on their own account and contracting directly with clients or customers, fall outside the scheme, as do traditional business-to-business contracts for the purchase of a service. However, that exception does not extend to individuals who obtain work through an intermediary, platform or similar arrangement where they are not operating an independent business in their own right.

The changes are not retrospective. For workers, individual subcontractors, and online matching service arrangements, a civil penalty can be imposed only where the engagement began on or after 1 October 2026. Businesses may nonetheless wish to review ongoing arrangements as a matter of good practice.

The changes are particularly relevant to businesses that rely on flexible working arrangements or use individuals who may previously have been regarded as falling outside the usual right to work checking requirements.

They also mean that businesses need to look beyond job titles or the terminology used in a contract. The nature of the working arrangement and how it operates in practice will be important when determining which obligations apply.

Employers can also refer to the Home Office’s right to work checks: an employer’s guide for detailed guidance on carrying out checks and meeting their obligations.

Why subcontractors and labour supply arrangements matter

One of the most significant aspects of the new regime is its application to individual subcontractors.

Businesses should therefore identify where individuals are engaged to provide services outside a conventional employment relationship and consider whether those arrangements fall within the expanded right to work scheme.

The position can become more complicated where work passes through a chain of contracts, for example where one business contracts to provide a service and then uses another organisation or individuals to carry out some or all of that work.

The Home Office guidance includes examples of common arrangements, but these are not exhaustive. Whether the rules apply will depend on the particular contractual arrangements and how they operate in practice.

This makes it important for businesses to understand both the employment status of the people carrying out work and the contractual relationships through which their services are being provided.

What does extended liability mean for businesses?

The reforms also introduce the concept of extended liability in certain contractual arrangements.

The starting point remains that the employer with the direct contractual relationship with an individual is responsible for carrying out the required right to work check.

However, in some circumstances liability for a civil penalty may extend further through a contractual chain.

This does not mean that every business purchasing services from another organisation will automatically become responsible for checking that organisation’s workforce. The Home Office guidance specifically recognises that extended liability does not apply to every business purchasing work or services.

However, businesses using agencies, subcontractors, outsourced service providers and other labour supply arrangements should understand how their arrangements are structured and whether they could fall within the new provisions.

Reviewing contracts and subcontracting arrangements

Contracts will become increasingly important in managing right to work compliance.

A business within the extended liability provisions will only have a statutory excuse if it meets the prescribed requirements in full and can evidence that it has done so. These cover three areas: contractual terms, substitution controls and identity verification.

Where the extended-liability provisions apply, relying on a general contractual statement that another organisation is responsible for its workers will not be enough.

Depending on the arrangement, businesses may need contractual provisions covering:

• Responsibility for carrying out prescribed right to work checks.
• Restrictions on further subcontracting without prior written consent.
• Equivalent right to work obligations where further subcontracting is permitted.
• Rights to audit compliance.
• Action that can be taken where illegal working or non-compliance is identified.

Businesses should also ensure contractual requirements are followed in practice. The Home Office guidance makes clear that contractual terms alone may not be sufficient where the arrangements operating in practice tell a different story.

Substitution clauses also require attention

Businesses using contractors or workers whose contracts allow another individual to carry out the work in their place should also review those arrangements.

Under the new rules, where substitution is permitted, processes may be required to ensure that a prescribed right to work check is completed before a substitute starts work.

Businesses should therefore understand who is actually carrying out work on their behalf rather than assuming that a check carried out on the person originally engaged will necessarily be sufficient.

This is another area where employment law and immigration compliance overlap. The wording of a contract, an individual’s employment status and what happens in practice can all be relevant.

Right to work compliance is not just an onboarding exercise

The changes provide a useful opportunity for employers to review their wider right to work procedures. Employers must carry out checks correctly and retain records in accordance with Home Office requirements to establish a statutory excuse against a civil penalty.

Employers cannot delegate responsibility for carrying out checks to a third party, such as a recruitment agency. The only exception is a prescribed digital check carried out by a right to work digital verification service provider (RtW DVSP). From 1 October 2026, any provider used must be registered on the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes register, with confirmation that it can carry out right to work checks. Using an unregistered provider will not give a statutory excuse.

Employers also need to carry out follow-up checks where an individual has time-limited permission to work in the UK, and they intend to continue employing them after that permission expires.

Businesses should make responsibility for these processes clear and ensure HR teams and managers understand when further checks may be required.

Right to work procedures must also be applied consistently. Employers should be mindful of their obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and avoid discriminatory practices when deciding who should be checked or how checks are carried out.

The Home Office’s separate statutory code of practice on avoiding unlawful discrimination while preventing illegal working gives further guidance, and checks should be applied to all workers, whether or not the business already believes them to be entitled to work in the UK.

Where a check shows that an individual does not have the right to work, or their permission has expired, employers should take advice before ending the engagement. Terminating employment in these circumstances can still give rise to unfair dismissal or discrimination claims if it is not handled correctly.

For sponsor licence holders, the consequences of a civil penalty can extend beyond the penalty itself and may affect their ability to sponsor migrant workers.

What should employers do before 1 October?

Businesses should use the remaining time before the changes take effect to review how individuals are engaged across their organisation.

As a starting point, employers should:

• Identify employees, workers, individual subcontractors and other individuals providing services to the business.
• Review arrangements involving agencies, subcontractors and other labour suppliers.
• Consider whether existing contracts adequately address right to work responsibilities.
• Review any substitution clauses and how substitutes are approved and checked.
• Check that existing right to work procedures and record-keeping are up to date.
• Identify workers with time-limited permission and ensure appropriate follow-up processes are in place.
• Make sure HR teams, managers and anyone responsible for engaging contractors understand the changes.

Businesses with complex supply chains or working arrangements should consider obtaining advice on whether particular arrangements fall within the new regime rather than assuming responsibility rests elsewhere.

Employment law and business immigration advice for employers

The new right to work rules bring employment law and business immigration considerations together, particularly where businesses use workers, contractors and subcontractors.

Our employment and business immigration solicitors can advise on employment status and contractual arrangements alongside right to work compliance, sponsor duties and wider immigration requirements.

Matthew Irvine, head of employment law, comments:

“For many businesses, the important change is that right to work compliance is no longer only about employees. Employers should be looking at how they use workers, individual subcontractors and other labour arrangements. Employment status, contractual arrangements and right to work requirements all mean it is important to consider how the working relationship operates in practice, rather than relying solely on what’s written in a contract.”

Sanae Sahebjalal, head of corporate immigration, comments:

“The extended liability provisions are prescriptive. Businesses in a chain of contracts, online platforms and employers who allow substitution will only have a defence if they can show that the contractual terms, substitution controls and identity checks required by the code of practice were in place before the work started. For sponsor licence holders, the stakes are higher still, because a civil penalty can put their licence at risk.”

If you are unsure how the right to work changes affect your workforce or contractual arrangements, contact our employment and business immigration solicitors for advice.