Stay Compliant: What You Need to Know About Right to Work Checks Before October 2026

From 1st October 2026, UK employers will have a much wider legal responsibility when carrying out Right to Work checks. Until now, these checks have only been required for employees; from October, the law will extend to many other types of workers, meaning businesses that engage agency staff, contractors or flexible workers will need to review how they recruit and onboard people.

For many employers, this will require changes to existing processes. Although the new rules do not come into force until October, now is the time to start preparing.

What exactly is changing?

The Government is expanding Right to Work requirements through the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 to help tackle illegal working and labour exploitation.

From 1st October 2026, employers will be legally required to carry out compliant Right to Work checks for:

• Employees
• Agency workers
• Zero-hours workers
• Gig economy workers
• Individual subcontractors
• Workers supplied through labour providers or labour supply chains
• Certain digital platforms that connect workers with customers for payment or commission

This is one of the biggest changes to Right to Work legislation in recent years and will affect thousands of organisations that rely on flexible labour.

Why has the law changed?

Many businesses now rely on workers who are not directly employed by them. In some cases, organisations have assumed that agencies or labour providers have already carried out the necessary immigration checks.

The Government believes this has left gaps that can be exploited by those working illegally and has introduced these changes to ensure businesses take greater responsibility for everyone carrying out work on their behalf.

What does this mean for employers?

If your business engages anyone other than direct employees, these changes are likely to affect you.

You’ll need to understand exactly who is carrying out Right to Work checks, when they are completed, and where evidence is retained. Simply assuming another organisation has done this will no longer be enough.

Many employers will also need to review contracts with recruitment agencies, labour providers and subcontractors to make sure responsibilities are clearly defined.

Isn’t this just something that affects large companies?

Absolutely not. Many employers will assume these changes only affect large organisations or those with sponsor licences; in reality, any business that uses agency workers, contractors or flexible labour such as cleaning staff could be affected. Taking the time to review your processes now will help avoid serious compliance issues later and ensure you’re ready well before the October deadline.

What should I be doing now?

Although the legislation doesn’t take effect until 1st October 2026, we recommend businesses begin preparing now.

You should:

• Identify every category of worker engaged by your business
• Review agreements with agencies, contractors and labour providers
• Clarify who is responsible for carrying out Right to Work checks
• Update recruitment and onboarding procedures where necessary
• Train managers involved in recruitment and engagement of workers
• Audit existing Right to Work records and processes to ensure they remain compliant

Taking action now will make the transition much smoother and reduce the risk of last-minute compliance issues.

What happens if a business doesn’t comply?

Failure to carry out compliant Right to Work checks can have serious consequences.

Businesses may face substantial civil penalties, lose their statutory excuse against illegal working penalties, jeopardise their sponsor licence (where applicable) and suffer reputational damage following Home Office enforcement action.

As the scope of the legislation expands, organisations using agency labour and contractors will face greater compliance expectations than ever before.

To discuss your requirements, contact our HR team:
Email HR@skaltd.co.uk or call 01427 420 403 to get started.

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