Home Office Publishes Draft Right to Work Guidance Ahead of October 2026 Changes
The Home Office has published draft updates to its Employer’s Guide to Right to Work Checks, with significant changes due to take effect on 1 October 2026 with civil penalties up to £60,000 per illegal worker.
The guidance applies to organisations employing workers, engaging contractors, or sourcing individuals through online matching services, such as the gig-economy and freelance platforms.
Key Changes
- Broader definition of “employer”: From October 2026, the definition will extend beyond traditional employers to include gig-economy platforms, businesses engaging contractors, and organisations using online matching services.
Common examples of the types of roles affected could include delivery drivers, private hire drivers, freelance IT specialists, care workers, hospitality staff, and self-employed tradespeople.
- Extended liability: means that responsibility for checking whether someone has the legal right to work in the UK may no longer sit only with the organisation that directly hires or pays them. Instead, other businesses involved in arranging, overseeing, or benefiting from the work could also be held responsible if the correct checks have not been carried out. See the below example:
A property developer hires a principal contractor to build a housing development. The principal contractor then uses several subcontractors, who in turn hire individual workers.
If one of those workers does not have the right to work in the UK, liability may not be limited to the subcontractor that hired them. The principal contractor, and potentially others in the contractual chain, could also face scrutiny if they failed to ensure appropriate compliance measures were in place.
- New compliance expectations: Businesses should have:
- Contractual requirements for right to work checks throughout the supply chain.
- Controls over substitution arrangements.
- Identity verification processes to ensure the worker is the individual originally checked.
- Mandatory DVSPs for digital checks: Businesses carrying out digital right to work checks must use a registered Digital Verification Service Provider (DVSP), such as Criminal Records Services. Responsibility for compliance remains with the employer.
As this is draft guidance, details may change before implementation. We will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as they emerge.
