Right to Work Changes 2026: What Every UK Employer Needs to Know Before 1 October

From 1 October 2026, the scope of Right to Work checks in the UK expands significantly under Section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025. Right to Work obligations currently apply only to employees under a contract of employment. From this date, they extend to contractors, subcontractors, gig economy workers, and anyone engaged through online matching platforms — regardless of whether they are directly employed.

What's changing and why

The current Right to Work scheme has a well-known gap: it only requires checks on people directly employed under a contract of employment. Businesses that engage workers through contracting chains, subcontracting arrangements, or gig platforms have not been required to carry out the same checks — creating a route around the system for illegal working.

Section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 closes this gap. The government has confirmed the changes will come into force on 1 October 2026, aligned with the UK's common commencement date for business regulation changes.

This is one of the most significant expansions of Right to Work compliance obligations in recent years, and it applies to every UK employer, not just sponsor licence holders.

Who is newly covered

From 1 October 2026, Right to Work checks must be carried out for:

• Traditional employees (unchanged — this obligation already exists)
• Contractors and subcontractors engaged through a contractual chain
• Individual subcontractors
• Workers engaged via online matching platforms or gig economy arrangements
• Anyone performing work for the business under a wider range of engagement types than the current "employee" definition covers

If your business relies on contractors, agency workers, subcontracted labour, or platform-based workers in any part of its operations, this affects you — even if you have never held a sponsor licence.

What employers must do differently

1. Written contractual terms before work starts

Contracts must confirm Right to Work check requirements and be in place before the individual begins work or providing the service — not after.

2. Restrictions on unauthorised subcontracting

Businesses must have clear terms governing how subcontracting is authorised and controlled within their contractual chains.

3. New substitution verification requirement

If a worker sends a substitute to carry out the work, the employer must verify that the substitute is the same individual whose Right to Work was originally checked. This is a genuinely new obligation — previously, substitution arrangements sat largely outside the Right to Work check regime.

4. Repeat checks on existing workers

This is a critical point many employers miss: the new rules don't just apply to new engagements from October 2026. Any repeat or follow-up Right to Work check carried out on or after 1 October 2026 — even for a worker who has been with the business for years — must follow the new rules to retain the statutory excuse.

5. Identity Service Provider (IDSP) registration

If your business currently relies on a Digital Verification Service (DVS) provider or Identity Service Provider for Right to Work checks, that provider must be specifically registered and authorised for Right to Work checks under the new regime. Many background-checking companies subcontract this function — check directly with your existing provider whether they meet the new authorisation requirement.

6. Anti-discrimination requirements

The updated Code of Practice explicitly requires equal treatment:

• Employers must not treat applicants less favourably because they hold time-limited permission to work
• Employers must not treat someone differently because they hold an eVisa rather than another form of status
• Employers cannot require online or digital checks except where the worker has been provided with an eVisa

What to do now, before October

• Map your workforce arrangements. Categorise everyone who performs work for your business by engagement type — direct employee, contractor, subcontractor, agency worker, platform worker. Identify which arrangements will be newly covered.
• Review your contracts. Any contractual chain involving subcontractors or substitutes needs updated terms confirming Right to Work obligations before 1 October 2026.
• Check your IDSP/DVS provider's authorisation status. Confirm your current provider is specifically registered for Right to Work checks under the new regime, not just general identity verification.
• Update your HR training and policies. Anyone responsible for recruitment or carrying out Right to Work checks needs to understand the expanded scope before it takes effect.
• Plan for repeat checks on existing workers. If you have workers with time-limited status due for a follow-up check on or after 1 October 2026, that check must be carried out under the new rules.

What this means if you hold a sponsor licence

If you're a sponsor licence holder, your sponsored workers are already subject to Right to Work checks as employees — this element doesn't change for them. However, if your business also engages contractors, subcontractors, or agency staff alongside your sponsored workforce, those arrangements will be newly covered from October 2026, and worth reviewing as part of your wider compliance position ahead of any Home Office visit.