Details of the timeline, when this legislation was passed, and the Home Office’s numerous iterations of its guidance, is included in our previous article, Extension of Right to Work regime: early clues of what it might look like in practice, that set out our predictions. The changes coming in from 1 October will essentially extend liability beyond the traditional direct employment relationship, to cover a range of non-employment “other working arrangements”.  All organisations should now be undertaking a review of their entire workforce to ensure that they are well-prepared for the new regime.

What are the new RTW rules?

The current rules make it illegal to employ an adult in the UK who does not have the Right to Work. Employers can protect themselves against civil penalties – a fine of up to £60,000 per illegal worker – if they correctly carry out a Right to Work check to establish a statutory excuse.

From 1 October 2026, liability will be extended to more business models beyond the traditional employer-employee relationship, reflecting the diversification of working practices in the UK. The new policy now extends liability to also cover those who engage individuals to carry out work in the UK:

  • under a Worker’s Contract: this will cover individuals who fall between an employee and self-employed contractor. The Home Office’s draft Right to Work guidance gives an example of an individual engaged by an employment business on a contract for services who is supplied to work at bars or restaurants on short-term assignments to cover busy periods. In this situation, the employment business is considered to be an employer for Right to Work check purposes and is responsible for carrying out the Right to Work check.
  • as an Individual Sub-Contractor: This typically is a contract for work or services between an individual (I) and a business (A), where A has been contracted by a third party (T) to provide the same work or services. For example, a person signs up for gig work with a platform, such as a food delivery or ride hailing app, determining their own working patterns and hours, and the individual jobs they accept. The business, A (in the example, the platform) is an employer for the purposes of the  prevention of illegal working regime, and will be obliged to check the Right to Work eligibility of the individual sub-contractor (I).
  • through Online Matching Services: the online matching service matches clients with an individual offering a service for a fee. For example, an app connects an individual to a cleaner or tradesperson for a one-off task. The online matching service is the individual’s employer for the purposes of the Right to Work check.

Beyond the (perhaps more) obvious business models which will be covered – particularly in the gig-economy – it is clear from the Home Office’s guidance that many previously excluded industry practices (particularly in sectors such as construction, warehousing and distribution) will now potentially be in scope of the illegal working framework.

What is the new “Extended Liability” concept?

Where there is a chain of contracts involved in the supply of goods or services, pinning down where liability for illegal working will be placed becomes more complicated and precarious. Whilst the Home Office states that they will first seek to determine if there is an employer in a direct relationship with the worker, the Home Office will go on to determine whether liability should be applied to another person in the chain of contracts. This is now known as “extended liability”, a totally new concept in the UK’s RTW regime which has essentially added a new, second form of, statutory excuse (defence).

To establish a statutory excuse against extended liability a business must comply with the following three prescribed requirements:

  • have in place a written statement before the work/service commences setting out a prescribed set of provisions around the RTW,
  • have in place substitution controls aimed at ensuring that any substitute has the RTW, and
  • carry out identity verification to confirm that the individual undertaking the work is in fact the person that the RTW check was undertaken on.

The Home Office is clearly seeking to impose liability in as many working arrangements as possible, even if the business now responsible is far removed from the potential illegal worker.

Out of scope scenarios

A welcome clarification in the new guidance is that the new rules do not apply in certain common circumstances. For example, they do not apply to:

  • Individuals who are operating an independent business and who contract directly with clients or customers for the provision of goods or services. (Example, a graphic designer in a B2B relationship that invoices for their work). In this scenario the client is not required to carry out a RTW check. However, this must be a genuine self-employed relationship, and the Home Office will look behind these arrangements to ensure it is not just a label that is being applied to avoid having to undertake a RTW check.
  • Every business that purchases work or services from another business, nor to a client, customer or end-user who is purchasing work or services for their own internal operations (examples: purchasing cleaning services for your own business operation (in which case liability for RTW checks rests with the cleaning company), using agency staff to assist with your own business operations (in which case the agency bears the onus of undertaking the RTW check), or a tech platform that just provides technology).

The Home Office also does not place the burden on individual members of the public. For example, if someone posts a pamphlet through your letterbox offering a window-cleaning service as an individual, you would not be under an obligation to check that person has the RTW in the UK before engaging them to clean your windows and you would not be fined if they turn out to be working illegally.

What should businesses do now?

The change takes effect from 1 October 2026, but organisations should act now to understand how these may affect them, and to give themselves sufficient time to put in place any new systems needed to address the newly covered arrangements. This includes reviewing your RTW practices and identifying any arrangements (such as your position in a chain of contracts) to determine who will ultimately bear responsibility /  liability in the eyes of the Home Office, and what provisions you need to have in place to avoid ‘extended liability’.

We have set out below a suggested plan of action:

  1. Inform leadership that changes are being rolled out in October, and additional budget will be required to ensure compliance.
  2. Map out ALL individuals you employ, engage or who are on your premises regularly — including agency workers, secondees, subcontractors and self‑employed individuals.
  3. Identify who is in-scope of the new rules.
  4. Update existing RTW policies and processes.
  5. Review contracts with third party contractors, agency staff, and self-employed / consultancy agreements to make sure warranties and indemnities are appropriately drafted in line with new extended liability rules.
  6. Operationally – check with HR, recruitment, and onboarding operations, who will be responsible for these additional checks and if more resources are needed.
  7. Consider tech solutions to help manage the increase in volume and undertaking ‘imposter checks’ for non-employees (i.e. checking the RTW output relates to the person presenting for work). RTW Document Verification Service Providers can help to streamline.
  8. Upskill your HR teams with the new changes and increased scrutiny, given the Home Office’s ability to audit.

What are the consequences of getting the new rules wrong?

Failure to undertake correct RTW checks can lead to severe consequences for a business, including:

  • Civil penalties: The Home Office may impose a fine up to £60,000 per illegal worker.
  • Criminal liability: Where you knew or had reasonable cause to believe that a worker did not have the RTW.
  • Loss of sponsor licence: Sponsors can lose their licence for not having adequate procedures in place to conduct RTW checks.
  • Reputational damage: The Home Office operates a ‘name and shame’ system by publishing online a list of the employers found to have been hiring illegal workers.

Employers should therefore take their updated obligations seriously or face significant penalties if it transpires that someone they engage directly or via the new “extended liability” concept did not have the appropriate RTW.

How we can help

RTW checks should form a key part of your HR processes, but the system is now more complex than ever. Doyle Clayton can assist organisations and employers by:

  • Advising who is in scope of the new rules once you have mapped out your entire workforce.
  • Advising on which of your contractual arrangements and additional working arrangements are now covered by the extended liability concept, and how to amend your contracts to retain a statutory excuse using the new prescribed requirements.
  • Undertaking audits to confirm that checks have been carried out correctly to establish a statutory excuse and identifying where these should be carried out again.
  • Preparing processes and policies tailored to your business to ensure robust systems are in place to incorporate the new rules, minimising burden whilst ensuring compliance.
  • Providing training to staff on how to carry out the new RTW checks, and how to avoid discrimination when doing so.
  • Advising on strategy where illegal working issues arise and liaising with the Home Office in respect of illegal working allegations.

In the present climate of increased enforcement, sound advice is key to complying with the RTW regime and avoiding penalties for hiring illegal workers. We therefore recommend employers act now and take steps to ensure they are well prepared for 1 October 2026.

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