FAQs: The Expansion of Right to Work Checks to Non-Employees
The Expansion of Right to Work Checks to Non-Employees
Frequently Asked Questions
Right to work checks are being expanded to non-employees from 1 October 2026.
The new law raises many questions for UK employers. We set out here some answers.
These FAQs will be updated when the Home Office releases any further information.
Please note that the questions and answers on this page are for general information only and must not be used as a substitute for legal advice. You should always take legal advice which is tailored to your specific circumstances. Contact a member of the immigration team for more information.
1. What is the background to the new law?
Ever since the UK started imposing sanctions on companies for illegal working in January 1997, the focus has always been on preventing illegal employment.
These changes expand the need to carry out right to work checks to non-employees in certain scenarios.
In addition, the changes apply in some situations when you engage someone indirectly.
The changes will come into force on 1 October 2026.
The government consulted on the changes in 2025 and produced a consultation report.The changes apply to all employers who want to avoid civil penalties of up to £60,000 per worker.
We expect the changes to be included in the Home Office sponsor guidance in due course. Under the current rules sponsors already have to check the right to work of everyone they sponsor, including non-employees.
2. Where can we find guidance and the changes to legislation?
The central illegal working legislation is the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. Section 15 says that a civil penalty will be issued where an employer employs someone without permission to do the work in question and they have not established a statutory excuse by completing a compliant right to work check before the employment commenced. There are new regulations which amend the 2006 Act, including extending section 15 to non-employees.
Those two guidance documents are currently in draft and will be in force from 1 October 2026.
3. Are there definitions in the guidance and law we need to know?
For clarity, throughout these FAQs we have used non-technical language as much as possible rather than the defined terms in the law and guidance.
However, if you refer to the new legislation and guidance you will need to understand several defined terms. To help you, we have summarised some of the main defined terms here:
Person. Somewhat confusingly this means a company, organisation, business or other entity. It does not mean a Worker/Individual worker unless expressly stated.
Employer. A Person with an Employment relationship with a Worker/Individual under a contract of employment (contract of service or apprenticeship), under a Worker’s contract, as an Individual sub-contractor, or when operating as an Online matching service providing details of an individual Service provider to potential clients or customers.
Employment. Includes all of the above working arrangements for an Employer.
Worker/Individual. Someone who has been engaged to carry out Employment. (In these FAQs we have generally referred to an “individual”.)
Worker’s contract. Means a contract (other than a contract of service or apprenticeship) under which a Worker/Individual undertakes to perform work or services personally for another Person (whether or not that Person is specified in the contract), and the Person is neither a client nor customer of any profession or business undertaking carried on by the Worker/Individual.
Individual sub-contractor. A Worker/Individual who has entered into a contract with a Person to provide work or services, in circumstances where the other Person has entered into a contract with a third party to provide, or arrange for the provision of, the work or services, but the Worker/Individual has not.
Substitution/Substitute. Where a Worker/Individual is permitted to Substitute their work or services to another Worker/Individual. This includes through a clause or provision in a contract that allows a Worker/Individual to be replaced by another Worker/Individual to perform the same work or services.
Online matching service. Means a Person who in the course of a business: keeps a register of Service providers for the purpose of matching them with potential clients or customers; provides an online service by which potential clients or customers can submit enquiries for the purpose of being matched with suitable Service providers; and charges a fee or commission in return for making such matches.
Service provider. In relation to an Online matching service means a person providing, or seeking to provide, work or services for remuneration.
4. When does the new law apply?
Right to work checks on or after 1 October 2026where you are in a direct contractual relationship with an individual (see section below on direct contractual relationships for more information).
Where you carry out an initial right to work check on an individual for work commencing on or after 1 October 2026, the new law will apply in relation to liability for a civil penalty.
The new law will also apply if a repeat right to work check on an existing individual (for example before an employee’s current visa expires) is required on or after 1 October 2026.
The new law will apply in relation to the amount of any civil penalty where an employee is employed under a contract of employment before 1 October 2026 but there is evidence they have been working illegally after that date.
New extended liability rules from 1 October 2026 where you are in an indirect contractual relationship with an individual (see below on indirect contractual relationships for more information).
In cases of indirect extended liability where the work commenced on or after 1 October 2026, the new law will apply in relation to liability for a civil penalty.
5. Who is not caught by the new legislation?
The following are not in scope of the new rules:
End users/clients. The new extended liability in indirect contractual relationships provisions do not apply to a business which acts solely as an end user, client or customer of a service, or which commissions or purchases work or services and is not under a contract to provide the work or services onwards to a third party as part of a chain of contracts. See also questions 18 and 19 for practical examples.
Genuinely self-employed. An individual is not in scope if they are genuinely self‑employed, operating an independent business on their own account, trading in their own name or through their own company, and contracting directly with clients or customers for goods/services. This includes arrangements where services are provided directly to members of the public or under traditional business-to-business contracts for the supply of services, where the arrangement is for the purchase of a service rather than engaging/employing an individual. Note an individual will be in scope of the new rules if they obtain work through an intermediary, platform, or similar arrangement where they are not operating an independent business in their own right. See also question 17 for a practical example.
6. Does the new law affect direct and indirect contractual relationships?
Yes. There are two key changes for you to be aware of – in respect of where you are in a direct contractual relationship and where you are in an indirect contractual relationship. See the sections below for more information.
Direct contractual relationships
7. Who will we need to check where we are in direct contractual relationships?
The new legislation extends the scope of civil penalties and right to work checks to include the following situations in which you engage/contract an individual directly:
Under a contract of employment (as is currently the case)
Under a worker’s contract (this means any other type of contract under which the individual undertakes to perform work or services personally for you and you are not their customer/client)
As an individual sub-contractor (this means that the individual has a contract with you to provide work or services and you have a contract to provide those services to a third party)
If you are operating an online matching service and the individual is a service provider (this means that you have a register of service providers and provide an online service by which potential customers can submit enquiries for the purpose of being matched with suitable service providers, and you charge a fee or commission for this service)
8. How will we carry out the right to work checks and are there any procedural changes from 1 October 2026?
From 1 October 2026, the right to work checks where you are in a direct contractual relationship with someone will be similar to the methods you currently use for employees working under a contract of employment:
British and Irish citizens: manual check or digital identity verification. You can carry out a manual right to work check on a British or Irish citizen’s original passport. Alternatively you can use a right to work digital verification service provider (RtW DVSP), previously known as an identity service provider. From 1 October 2026 you must ensure any RtW DVSP you use is registered for right to work checks on the Office for Digital Identities Attributes (OfDIA) register. The RtW DVSP will be able to check passports which expired less than 6 months before the check as well as valid passports. You will be able to rely on facial recognition technology from a registered RtW DVSP for a verification/imposter check to make sure that the person presenting themselves for work is the person whose passport has been checked.
Individuals with a visa: online check. If an individual has a visa or indefinite leave to remain you must carry out an online right to work check using a share code provided by them. You must store a copy of the ‘profile’ page confirming the individual’s right to work, including photograph and the date on which the check was conducted, in hardcopy or an electronic format. It is not sufficient to save a copy of the individual’s own migrant‑facing eVisa account page. You must carry out the check. You cannot use a RtW DVSP to carry out the check. From 1 October 2026 you must ensure the correct employer name is recorded in full.
Other scenarios: Employer Checking Service. If you cannot carry out an online check, for example where the individual’s visa application is has a pending/outstanding visa application, you can use the Home Office’s Employer Checking Service. The Employer Checking Service can also be used where there is a technical failure with the online right to work check system.
Given you will now need to check a much wider range of individuals rather than only employees, we expect some employers may have difficulty in identifying who they need to check. See question 14 for more information.
Indirect contractual relationships
9. When are we subject to extended liability in an indirect contractual relationship?
The new legislation includes extended liability rules which mean that an entity in a supply chain could be held liable for a civil penalty even where they do not have a direct contractual relationship with the individual who has been working illegally.
The new rules extend liability for a civil penalty in the following scenarios:
a) Supply chains. You have a contract to provide work/services to a third party. You contract another company to provide or arrange the work/services and that company provides an individual to carry out the work/services. b) Online matching service. You are operating an online matching service, you match a service provider with a client/customer to provide work/services, and that service provider provides an individual to carry out the work/services. c) Substitution. You have a contract with an individual to carry out work/services for you and the contract permits that individual to substitute a different individual to carry out the work/services in their place.
In these scenarios, you may be treated as the ‘employer’ of any individual who personally provides the work or services further down the supply chain – even though you do not have a direct contractual relationship with that individual. This means that if the individual does not have permission to do the work you could be liable for a civil penalty.
10. How do we obtain a statutory excuse against extended liability for a civil penalty?
In the above scenarios (at question 9) a) to c) you can establish a statutory excuse against a civil penalty if you comply with certain ‘prescribed requirements’. The requirements apply across an entire supply chain, not only to the first contract in a chain. The prescribed requirements relate to:
(i) Contractual terms and conditions (written statement)
For scenarios a) and b) above (not c), to obtain a statutory excuse you must have a written statement with terms of conditions in place before the work/service commences which:
Requires the company you have contracted with to conduct prescribed right to work checks on any individual used. You may put in place arrangements to obtain assurance from the company that prescribed right to work checks have been carried out. You must have taken reasonable steps to satisfy yourself that those assurances are reliable and that the prescribed requirements are being met
Does not allow the company you have contracted with to further subcontract the work/services without your prior written consent, and requires them to replicate equivalent right to work obligations in any permitted subcontracting arrangements
Permits you to conduct audits of the company you have contracted with for compliance with prescribed right to work checks to establish a statutory excuse
Enables you to take enforcement action against the company you have contracted with where illegal working is identified and a statutory excuse has not been established. There must also be equivalent provisions in respect of the direct contractual relationship between the company you have contracted with and the individual. These provisions may include (but are not limited to) suspension or termination of the contract
Requires the company you have contracted with to co-operate with any Home Office investigation relating to illegal working, by providing:
information relating to the purpose and make-up of the chain of contracts in relation to the work/services
details of the company you have contracted with, such as its official name, company type, registered address or principal place of business and company registration number (where applicable), and any other information which the Home Office considers is, or may be, relevant to the investigation.
(ii) Substitution controls
For scenario c) above (in question 9), you will only obtain a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty where you have implemented, before the work/service commences, processes ensuring that:
A prescribed right to work check is carried out by you in respect of any substitute. You must carry out the check. It cannot be delegated to an individual carrying out the work or services (even if the contract describes the individual as operating in business on their own account)
The individual cannot carry out any work/services as a substitute before their right to work has been verified
Contractual provisions are in place between you and the individual (which may include but are not limited to suspension or termination of the contract) where you or the individual know, or have reasonable cause to believe, that a substitute is working illegally. This may include where the substitute has failed to comply with a request to complete a right to work check
For the duration of the work, you ensure that the individual and their registered substitute are the same individuals in respect of whom right to work checks have been carried out. This must include by way of identity verification systems, as described below at (iii).
Other evidence to help form a statutory excuse against an allegation of illegal working by a substitute may include you keeping:
Details of contractual arrangements, or copies of agreements, or terms and conditions relating to substitution.
Records of right to work checks undertaken on substitutes.
Records demonstrating that substitutions were authorised in accordance with your processes.
Records identifying the individual who carried out work and the period for which the work was undertaken.
Evidence of identity verification measures used to confirm that the individual carrying out the work was the same individual whose right to work had been checked.
Records of any audits or compliance activity undertaken by you.
Evidence that appropriate action was taken where substitution occurred outside agreed processes or where illegal working was identified or suspected.
(iii) Identity verification systems and processes
To establish a statutory excuse against liability for payment of a civil penalty, any entity in a chain of contracts must ensure that the individual carrying out the work/services is the same individual on whom a right to work check has been conducted. Your systems and processes may include:
Identity cards or workplace access passes
Facial verification technology, including use of a registered right to work digital verification service provider
Biometric or attendance management systems
Verification against training records, qualifications or licences relating to the role
Re-verification of identity at set intervals. The recommendation is that this happens at least once in every 24 hours or shift of work. The frequency of re-verification should be proportionate to the nature of the work and the risk of substitution or impersonation.
You may rely on identity verification systems and processes operated by another party in the chain of contracts or by a third party provider, such as a registered RtW DVSP (see question 8), provided that you have taken reasonable steps to satisfy yourself that those systems and processes are effective and that the prescribed requirements are being met.
Practical scenarios and questions – How the new law will apply in practice
11. What happens if we do not do right to works?
The law does not require you to carry out right to work checks. However, if you do not carry out right to work checks or protect yourself against extended liability you risk receiving a civil penalty of up to £60,000 if it turns out that you have engaged an individual who does not have the right to work or that there is an individual in your supply chain who does not have the right to work.
If you have a sponsor licence you must carry out right to work checks. If the Home Office discovers that you are not carrying out right to work checks you will probably lose your licence.
12. We have a sponsor licence. Are there extra things we need to be aware of on right to work checks?
We expect the changes to be included in the Home Office sponsor guidance in due course, and on or before 1 October 2026.
Sponsors have to be fully compliant with right to work checks. If a sponsor has not employed someone illegally but has failed to follow the guidance on right to work checks they have breached their sponsor duties.
The duty to carry out right to work checks extends beyond sponsored workers. For example, sponsors who are found at a compliance visit not to have checked the right to work of British citizens have breached their sponsor duties. Breaching sponsor duties means your sponsor licence could be revoked.
Given that the scope of right to work checks will widen from 1 October 2026, we expect there to be more complications and compliance action taken against sponsors.
13. If we engage someone on a worker’s contract or as an individual sub-contractor for only a day or two, do we need to check their right to work?
Yes. As with the current right to work check regime for employees, the new rules from 1 October 2026 will amount to any length of relevant working.
14. How do we know if someone is an employee, on a worker’s contract, an independent contractor, or someone working via an online matching service?
This may be a tricky area for some employers. It is generally straightforward to determine whether someone is an employee, and therefore subject to the current right to work regime.
Under the new law from 1 October 2026 we anticipate it is likely to be more difficult for you to determine an individual’s exact working/employment status – especially as the definition of “worker” in the Code of Practice is wider than the statutory definition of “worker” under the Employment Rights Act 1996. You may wish to take a cautious approach and if in doubt carry out the right to work check before the work commences.
If you have any queries in that respect please contact us. Our specialist employment law team can also assist you.
15. Do we need to prepare in advance of the changes on 1 October 2026?
Yes. See question 4 for timing on when the new law will apply. You will need to start preparing for the changes now so that you are ready and compliant from 1 October 2026.
For example, in respect of the extended liability in indirect contractual relationships explained above, work commencing on or after 1 October 2026 will be subject to the new rules. So your existing contracts should be reviewed in advance of 1 October to ensure you are meeting the prescribed requirements for a statutory excuse for anyone who commences work on or after that date under the existing contract. Any new contracts will also need to be compliant.
If you will be in scope of the indirect contractual relationships rules you should review your contractual arrangements with any company you have contracted to provide work/services to your client, including individual workers.
You may consider amending your contracts or, for example, agreeing addendums to your contracts. This will take time and you should prepare in advance of 1 October 2026.
In addition, if you will be in scope of the indirect contractual relationships rules you will need to meet the new identity verification requirements and so will need to arrange that in time.
16. Where we are the business contracted to provide workers onwards in a chain, what do we need to do?
It could be that you are a business which has been contracted to provide work/services, including individual workers, for another company’s clients.
First, if the Home Office believe that someone is working illegally they will seek to identify the company which has a direct contractual relationship with the illegal worker. This would be you so to avoid a civil penalty you must ensure you carry out the right to work checks correctly in accordance with the guidance.
Second, where you are in a chain of contracts, you could be asked by the company that contracted you to confirm (in written terms and conditions as explained above) that you satisfy the various prescribed requirements. You should satisfy yourself that you are satisfying these requirements. If you have in turn contracted another company to supply workers, you will want that company to meet your prescribed requirements and have full documentation in place (as explained at question 10).
17. When we have a self-employed individual on our site to provide services such as a plumber or electrician, do we need to check their right to work?
No. If a genuinely self-employed individual is on your site to provide services to you you do not need to check their right to work. That also applies where the individual is working through their own personal service company and they are providing business to business services. See question 5 for more information.
In a similar way, if a member of the public asks a plumber to come to their home to fix a leak, the member of the public is not required to check the plumber’s right to work.
18. If we contract a company to provide services at our premises, such as cleaners/management consultants/health and safety advisers, etc, do we need to check their right to work?
No. You have entered into a contract to purchase services only, not labour. You are also not providing the services onwards as part of a contractual chain – the services are for your business.
You are an end user/client (see question 5) and so are out of scope of the right to work regime.
The company you have contracted to provide the services will be responsible for the right to work checks.
Nevertheless, you may wish to take steps to ensure that, so far as possible, the necessary checks have been carried out on the individuals sent to your premises. For example, you could ensure that the contract between you and the company providing the individuals working on your site contains appropriate warranties and indemnities confirming that the company has carried out the appropriate right to work checks on all individuals that will work on your premises and also recording the fact that you are an end user/client in respect of the services being provided
19. In a chain of contracts, what if individuals supplied by another company are on our site – do we need to check their right to work?
No. There may be a chain of contracts through a number of different parties which could be found to be directly or indirectly employing/engaging an individual. Those parties will need to ensure they meet the right to work regime.
But if you are the end user/client of the services for which there are individuals on your site performing the work and you are not passing the workers on to work for another party, you should not be responsible for checking their right to work or have extended liability. This is the case if you are acting solely as an end-user, client or customer of a service, or have commissioned or purchased work or services.
That is because you should be an end user/client within the meaning of the guidance. See question 5 for more information.
However, as above, you may wish to consider taking steps to make sure that the necessary checks have been carried out including, for example, ensuring that the contract between you and the company providing the individuals working on your site contains appropriate warranties and indemnities confirming that the company has carried out (or is satisfied that the direct employer/engager of the individuals working on your site has carried out) the appropriate right to work checks on all individuals who will work on your premises. It would also be helpful, from an evidential perspective, for the contract to contain wording expressly confirming that you are the end user/client of the services being provided.
20. What if we have staff who are agency workers – do we need to check their right to work?
You may have agency workers filling temporary roles in your business. The agency workers will normally be employed by the recruitment/employment agency.
Assuming you are not using the individuals to provide work or service another party in a contractual chain, you are not responsible for carry out right to work checks. Rather, the recruitment agency will be responsible for their right to work checks.
Although you are not strictly required to carry out the right to work checks, in this situation it is good practice to do so to avoid any potential liability. In addition, depending on the circumstances and your perception of the risk involved, you may wish to take steps to make sure that the individuals sent to your premises have the right to work in the UK by carrying out the necessary checks yourself or ensuring that the contract between you and the recruitment/employment agency contain appropriate warranties and indemnities confirming that the recruitment/employment agency has carried out the appropriate right to work checks on all agency workers that will be provided to your business.
21. What are the top 10 things we should do as a priority before 1 October 2026?
You will know your business best and what priorities you need to make. For most employers it is likely the following 10 things will be near the top of your agenda to consider as soon as possible and before 1 October 2026:
Share these FAQs with all relevant stakeholders in your business. Depending on your business that could include your HR, legal, and commercial teams.
Assess who in your recruitment plans and supply chains is in scope of the new requirements (see question 14 for more details).
If you are using a RtW DVSP to check the right to work of British and Irish citizens, ensure it is a registered provider (see question 8 for more information). You will also need to use a registered RtW DVSP where the indirect relationship extended liability requirements apply (see question 10(iii) for more information).
Review your onboarding procedures for direct relationship right to work checks you will need to make on employees, individual subcontractors, those under a worker’s contract, and individuals though an online matching service.
Review your standard contractual documentation for direct relationships to cover the new types of workers/staff who will need to have their right to work checked.
Audit your workforce to identify any change of procedures required and areas of risk.
Review your existing commercial contracts to identify any indirect relationship risks and ensure you meet the prescribed requirements for a statutory excuse.
Prepare templates for use in new commercial contractual relationships which will be entered into on or after 1 October where there will be indirect relationship risks.
Consider attending our seminars – details are below.
Contact us with any queries you may have. We can also assist you with each of the priorities above – see below for how we can help.
How Kingsley Napley can help
Alongside our specialist employment law team, we can provide you with joined up immigration and employment advice for your business before and after the changes come into effect on 1 October 2026.
This could involve for example:
Advising on specific scenarios you have in your business
Identifying the types of workers you have in your business
Managing risk
Suggesting best practice systems and processes
Auditing your workforce and labour supply chains
Reviewing contracts and onboarding processes
Training HR staff and those responsible for onboarding and right to work checks
We will be releasing further alerts and blogs over the coming months. If you would like to receive our alerts and you are not already on our immigration mailing list sign up here.
We are also hosting two in person seminars at our offices at which this and other topics will be covered:
Our workforce challenges 2026 breakfast seminar with our employment team on Thursday 17 September 2026 8.30am-10am. Please sign up here.
A business immigration breakfast seminar on Tuesday 3 November 2026. A link to sign up will be provided here shortly.
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Further information
If you have any questions, please contact a member of the immigration team.
