Right to work checks – what’s changing? 

The changes arise from the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025, which broadens the scope of the existing right to work regime. Updated Home Office guidance is expected to accompany the new requirements when they become effective on 1 October 2026.

Until now, employers have generally been responsible for checking the immigration status of employees before employment begins. Carrying out the correct checks provides what is known as a statutory excuse, protecting the employer from civil penalties if it later transpires that the individual did not have permission to work.

While this principle remains unchanged, the new legislation extends who must carry out these checks and introduces additional liability.

The new rules are expected to apply to organisations that engage individuals in a wider range of working relationships, including:

As a result, businesses that previously fell outside the right to work regime may now be responsible for verifying an individual’s permission to work before any work starts.

Not every contractor or self-employed individual will be covered. Individuals who are genuinely operating their own independent business, contract directly with their clients and bear their own commercial risk are generally expected to remain outside the expanded regime. However, simply describing someone as “self-employed” in a contract will not determine their legal status. The reality of the working relationship is far more important than the label used.

Businesses should carefully review how individuals are engaged, particularly where there is any uncertainty. Questions worth considering include:

No single factor will provide the answer on its own, so each arrangement should be considered on its individual facts.

The expanded right to work obligations apply to relevant engagements beginning on or after 1 October 2026. The updated Home Office Code of Practice will also govern right to work checks and any follow-up checks required from that date onwards.

Businesses should avoid waiting until October before reviewing their procedures. Identifying affected working arrangements and updating internal processes now will help reduce compliance risks.

The cost of getting these checks wrong can be substantial.

Civil penalties may reach: