From 1 October 2026, right to work checks are no longer only for employees. Businesses that engage people on worker’s contracts, use individual sub-contractors or run online platforms that match workers with customers can now face a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker if the right checks are not in place.
Compliance support for staffing businesses, delivery and gig platforms, contractors and their supply chains.
Reviewed by Morgan Smith Immigration · IAA-regulated UK immigration advisers · Last reviewed
TL;DR
Since 1 October 2026, the Right to Work Scheme covers people engaged under worker’s contracts, individual sub-contractors and online matching services, as well as employees. A Home Office right to work check carries no fee, but a business found using an illegal worker without a statutory excuse faces a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per worker. Businesses further up a contracting chain can also be liable unless they have the prescribed contract terms, substitution controls and identity verification in place before the work starts.
£60,000
Maximum civil penalty per illegal worker
1 Oct 2026
Scheme extended beyond employees
24 hours
Recommended identity re-check interval
What Changed on 1 October 2026?
Until 1 October 2026, the duty to check right to work applied to employers and their employees. The Home Office’s updated guide now brings three more groups into the Right to Work Scheme: businesses that engage individuals under a worker’s contract, businesses that engage individual sub-contractors, and online matching services that provide details of an individual service provider to clients or customers. In the guidance examples, an employment business supplying temporary hospitality staff, a delivery app and a cleaning platform are each treated as the employer for right to work purposes.
The guide also introduces extended liability. A business that contracts to provide work or services and passes that work to another employer, or a platform whose service providers contract directly with customers, can be liable for illegal working further down the chain. The same applies where a contract allows a worker to send a substitute. Liability depends on how the arrangement works in practice, not on the label in the contract.
The civil penalty only applies to work under these new arrangements that started on or after 1 October 2026, and the extended liability requirements apply to contracts entered into on or after that date. Licensed sponsors should note that the Home Office sponsor guidance now points to these changes, and a civil penalty can affect your ability to hold a sponsor licence.
How to Establish a Statutory Excuse Under Extended Liability
The three requirements that must be in place before the work starts
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Written Statement in Contracts
Before the work starts, the contract with each supplier or service provider must require prescribed right to work checks, bar further subcontracting without written consent, allow you to audit their checks, allow enforcement action such as suspension or termination, and require co-operation with any Home Office investigation.
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Substitution Controls
Where a contract allows substitution, every substitute must have a prescribed right to work check before working. The check cannot be delegated to the worker, and you must make sure the person working is the same person who was checked.
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Identity Verification
You need proportionate systems to confirm the person doing the work is the person who was checked, such as workplace passes, facial recognition through a certified digital identity provider or attendance systems. The Home Office recommends re-verifying at least once in any 24-hour period or shift.
What You Can and Cannot Do
What businesses can rely on, and what they cannot delegate
✓ You Can
- Rely on supplier assurances that checks were done, if you take reasonable steps to confirm they are reliable
- Use existing operational systems for identity verification where they give equivalent assurance
- Use a certified digital identity provider (RtW DVSP) for identity and right to work checks
- Audit suppliers in your chain under the contract terms the guidance requires
- Suspend or end contracts where illegal working is found and no statutory excuse exists
✗ You Cannot
- Delegate the check to the worker, even if the contract describes them as running their own business
- Let a substitute start before their right to work has been verified
- Rely on contract labels alone: the Home Office looks at how the arrangement works in practice
- Check only some workers: checks must be consistent for everyone, including British citizens, to avoid discrimination
- Assume the first tier is enough: extended liability is not limited to a single tier of contracting
Costs & Fees
Current fees as of 2026. Set by the Home Office — subject to change.
Fees set by the Home Office and subject to change. Last reviewed: October 2026.
| Item | Cost (2026) |
|---|---|
| Home Office right to work check | No fee |
| Digital identity check (RtW DVSP) | Set by the provider |
| Civil penalty per illegal worker | Up to £60,000 |
| Compliance review by our advisers | Quoted after a scoping call |
How We Bring Your Business Into Line
A five-step compliance review for contractors, platforms and supply chains
Map Your Arrangements
We identify every way people work for or through your business: employees, worker’s contracts, sub-contractors, platforms and supply chains.
Assess Scope
We assess which arrangements fall within the Scheme or extended liability, based on how they operate in practice.
Update Contracts
We set out the written statement terms needed in supplier and service-provider contracts, including audit and enforcement rights.
Build the Controls
We design right to work checking, substitution controls and identity re-verification that fit your operating model.
Evidence and Audit
You get a documented compliance file to show the Home Office, with a plan to audit suppliers over time.
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Sources
Legal information on this page is based on guidance from GOV.UK, the UK Home Office / UK Visas and Immigration, legislation.gov.uk, and Free Movement. Rules change frequently — speak to our team to confirm current requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the extended Right to Work Scheme
What changed with right to work checks on 1 October 2026?
The Right to Work Scheme was extended beyond employees. It now also covers businesses that engage people under worker’s contracts, individual sub-contractors and online matching services that connect individual service providers with customers. A new extended liability regime also applies to contracting chains and substitution arrangements.
Do I need to check the right to work of self-employed sub-contractors?
If you engage an individual sub-contractor to carry out work personally, you are now treated as their employer for right to work purposes for work that started on or after 1 October 2026. You should carry out a prescribed right to work check before the work begins to establish a statutory excuse.
Do gig economy and delivery platforms need to carry out right to work checks?
Yes, in many cases. The Home Office guide gives the example of a delivery platform where individuals log into an app, accept jobs and are paid per delivery, and treats the platform as the employer responsible for the right to work check.
What is extended liability for illegal working?
Extended liability means a business can be liable for a civil penalty for illegal working by people it does not directly engage, for example workers supplied through a contracting chain or substitutes sent by a contractor. A business can establish a statutory excuse by meeting the prescribed requirements before the work starts.
What must the written statement in a supplier contract include?
It must require the supplier to carry out prescribed right to work checks, prevent further subcontracting without your written consent, allow you to audit their checks, allow enforcement action such as suspension or termination where illegal working is found, and require co-operation with any Home Office investigation.
What are substitution controls?
Where a contract allows a worker to send someone else, substitution controls make sure every substitute has a prescribed right to work check before working, that the check is not delegated to the worker, and that the person working is always the person who was checked.
How often should identity be re-verified for platform workers?
The Home Office recommends re-verifying identity at least once in any 24-hour period or shift. The right frequency depends on the work and the risk of substitution or impersonation, and can be built into the start of each shift or task.
What is the penalty for using an illegal worker?
A business without a statutory excuse can face a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker. In serious cases there can be a criminal conviction with up to five years in prison and an unlimited fine, as well as business closure notices.
Does the change apply to contractors engaged before 1 October 2026?
The civil penalty for worker’s contracts, individual sub-contractors and online matching services only applies where the work started on or after 1 October 2026. The extended liability requirements apply to contractual arrangements entered into on or after that date.
Can we rely on our supplier’s right to work checks?
Yes, if you have taken reasonable steps to satisfy yourself that the supplier’s assurances are reliable and that the prescribed requirements are being met. Keeping audit records and evidence of how you check those assurances is what makes that reliance defensible.
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