25 September 2026

From 1 October 2026, the UK’s right to work regime will expand, extending liability for right to work checks beyond conventional employees. These changes are significant and should be treated as a board-level risk and compliance issue, requiring appropriate oversight from senior leadership. With the implementation of these changes less than two weeks away, we set out below a summary of the changes and how businesses can prepare.

Since the new draft right to work guidance was published in July 2026, the Home Office has issued a further draft Employer’s guide to right to work checks on 11 September 2026. It remains draft guidance, but gives businesses a clearer basis for reviewing their workforce, supplier and contracting arrangements before the reforms take effect. We detail the specific updates from the 11 September guidance below.

What is changing?

Businesses are currently required to check that their direct employees have the right to work, and keep evidence of compliant checks.  From 1 October, businesses will also need to check the right to work of certain people engaged under a worker’s contract, certain individual subcontractors and some individuals introduced through online matching services. The new requirements may also require businesses to check the right to work of workers employed further along a contractual chain, or of ensuring contractual provisions are put in place to ensure they are protected in the event of illegal working downstream in a chain.

Failure to comply with the new requirements may expose businesses to civil penalties of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker found within their labour supply chain. Criminal sanctions may also apply where a business knew, or had reasonable cause to believe, that an individual was working without the necessary permission.

When can liability move up a contractual chain?

In specified non-direct arrangements, a business further up the contractual chain may be treated as responsible unless it can show that the prescribed safeguards were in place before the work started. This is referred to as ‘extended liability’ in the guidance.

Extended liability is particularly relevant where a business subcontracts the delivery of labour to another employer, where an online matching service connects a client with a corporate service provider, or where an individual service provider is submitted to send a substitute worker in place of the originally identified individual. A business simply buying a completed service for its own use should not ordinarily be caught on that basis alone.

The updated guidance contains a series of example scenarios to illustrate when extended liability will apply which will be useful for any employers to understand which of their own supplier and contractor relationships may be affected.

What contractual safeguards may be needed?

For relevant subcontracting arrangements, a business should obtain a written statement from the contractor before the work starts. This statement should require that the contractor undertakes compliant right to work checks, restricts further subcontracting without written consent, allows audits of its systems by the business, support suspension or termination where illegal working is found, and require cooperation with Home Office enquiries.

Where an individual contractor is permitted to provide a substitute worker, it will be necessary for them to put in place prescribed processes including a reliable way to identify any substitute worker, and complete the correct check before that person starts.

Who is not within scope of the changes?

People who are genuinely self-employed and providing a service directly to customers will be out of scope of the changes.

In addition, end-users or consumers purchasing a completed service for their own use will also be unaffected.

What has changed in the new September guidance?

The Home Office published draft right to work guidance for employers in July 2026, which went some way to clarifying the new provisions. Now, the guidance has been updated again and the 11 September draft guidance substantially reorganises and simplifies the July version. It provides further insight into how the new regime will operate and addresses a number of practical concerns raised by employers following publication of the earlier version.

The guidance is not yet in force, but it is expected to take effect on 1 October 2026 alongside the expansion of the right to work regime.

One of the most significant changes relates to the transitional arrangements for the new extended liability provisions. The July draft suggested that liability would depend on when the individual’s work commenced. However, the revised guidance instead focuses on when the relevant contractual arrangements were entered into. This appears to clarify that organisations seeking to establish a statutory excuse against extended liability will need to comply with the new requirements where the contractual relationship was entered into on or after 1 October 2026. The change provides a clearer indication of how the Home Office intends the transitional provisions to apply in practice.

The revised guidance also introduces a new framework for assessing whether a working arrangement falls within the scope of the right to work scheme. Rather than relying solely on contractual labels, the Home Office has set out a range of factors that organisations should consider, including who supplies or arranges the workers, who exercises control over them, whether substitution is permitted, and whether the arrangement is genuinely one for outsourced services or the supply of labour. This suggests that when assessing responsibility under the new regime, the Home Office intends to take an approach based on the actual substance of the arrangement.

In addition, the updated draft contains a number of practical clarifications for employers. It expressly confirms that responsibility for carrying out right to work checks may be delegated to employees, agency workers or other individuals acting under the employer’s control and direction, regardless of the checking method used. New guidance has also been added on dealing with suspected impersonation or identity concerns, encouraging employers to raise concerns sensitively and proportionately and, where appropriate, seek further HR or legal advice. The Home Office has also strengthened requirements relating to digital verification service providers (DVSPs), requiring greater transparency where screening or referencing agencies act as intermediaries and preventing organisations from misrepresenting their certification status.

What remains unclear?

The boundary between an in-scope worker and a genuinely independent business remains difficult to apply. The guidance contains examples, but modern arrangements often combine personal service, limited substitution rights, control by a client and operation through a personal service company. Classification will depend on the contract and the practical reality of the arrangement.

It is also not yet clear how every casual, zero-hours, agency, volunteer, office-holder or partner arrangement will be treated. In particular, the draft guidance does not provide a definitive answer on whether members of limited liability partnerships must undergo checks. The government has separately said that it will continue to consider measures concerning directors and partners of limited liability businesses. Organisations should therefore avoid assuming that every LLP partner is automatically in or out of scope.

Further uncertainty remains around exactly when services are being supplied onward through a contractual chain, how the rules interact with agency models, and what evidence the Home Office will expect when testing whether prescribed safeguards were in place.

Do the changes apply to existing arrangements?

For newly covered working arrangements, the expanded civil penalty provisions apply where the relevant employment or contractual arrangement was entered into on or after 1 October 2026. Existing employees remain subject to the current and continuing right to work framework, including follow-up checks where required.

What has changed with digital identity checks for right to work?

The September guidance confirms that, from 1 October 2026, businesses may use a certified right to work Digital Verification Service Provider (RtW DVSP) to verify worker’ identities. The RtW DVSP’s identity verification must be used alongside the Home Office online right to work service: the business must still obtain the worker’s share code, check the relevant immigration status and work restrictions, and satisfy itself that the person verified by the provider is the individual presenting for work.

RtW DVSPs must now also be listed on the official register of digital verification services, held by the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA).

What should businesses do now?

The date of implementation of these changes is fast approaching. Some of the principal steps that businesses should take are as follows:

• map all non-employee labour and service arrangements; identify workers engaged outside traditional employment structures;
• review supply-chain, subcontractor and agency contracts;
• implement a framework for determining whether new engagements fall within scope.
• where contracts come within scope of extended liability, amend contracts to include wording to include contractual safeguards against illegal working liability;
• ensure there are controls in place to manage compliance risks when contractors use substitutes workers;
• confirm that any digital verification provider is registered for right to work services.
• consider audit and monitoring processes for suppliers;
• keep clear evidence showing the assessment, contractual safeguards and checks completed for each relevant arrangement. Apply processes consistently and without unlawful discrimination;
• train HR, procurement, legal, operational teams and contract managers before 1 October 2026.

How can we help?

If your organisation needs help assessing working arrangements, updating contracts or preparing right to work processes, contact your assigned LDI lawyer or our Enquiries team at enquiries@lauradevine.com.