Many platform businesses have historically viewed themselves as technology providers rather than employers. Under the new rules, that distinction becomes much less important. If your business operates an online marketplace matching individuals with customers for paid work or services, you may now have legal obligations to carry out RTW checks and could face substantial penalties if an illegal worker is identified.
What’s changing?
The changes arise from the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025, which expands the RTW regime beyond traditional employment relationships. The Home Office guidance confirms that the legislation now covers not only traditional employees, but also workers, certain subcontracting arrangements and online matching services.
The practical effect is that businesses operating online platforms can no longer assume that RTW compliance is somebody else’s responsibility.
Which platforms are caught?
The Home Office guidance defines an “online matching service” as a “person” who, in the course of business:
- keeps a register of service providers for the purpose of matching them with potential clients or customers;
- provides an online service through which clients or customers can submit enquiries in order to be matched with suitable service providers; and
- charges a fee or commission in return for making those matches.
A service provider is defined broadly as a person providing, or seeking to provide, work or services for remuneration.
This definition is capable of capturing a wide range of digital businesses, including:
- freelance marketplaces;
- gig economy platforms;
- tradesperson matching apps;
- care and support worker platforms;
- tutoring platforms;
- beauty and wellness marketplaces; and
- other platforms monetising introductions between individual service providers and paying customers.
Many founders may be surprised by the breadth of the definition. The legislation is not limited to businesses that engage workers directly. It extends to businesses whose role is simply to facilitate introductions through an online platform.
What do platforms have to do?
The key obligation is to ensure that individuals providing services through the platform have the right to work in the UK before they commence providing those services. The Home Office guidance confirms that online matching services can obtain a statutory excuse against civil penalties by carrying out prescribed RTW checks.
In practice, platform operators will need to build immigration compliance into their onboarding processes.
Depending on the individual’s circumstances, this may involve:
- using the Home Office online RTW service;
- conducting prescribed digital checks through an approved digital verification provider; or
- conducting manual prescribed checks permitted under the guidance.
As with traditional employers, the checks must be carried out correctly and records retained in accordance with the Home Office requirements in order to establish a statutory excuse.
The new concept of “extended liability”
Perhaps the most important development for platform businesses is the introduction of extended liability.
The legislation now provides that an online matching service may be treated as employing individuals who ultimately provide services to customers through the platform, even though they are higher up the contractual chain. The Home Office guidance expressly states that extended liability can arise where an online matching service provides details of a service provider to clients or customers and the service provider subsequently enters into a contract with the client or customer.
This is a significant departure from the historic position and reflects the Government’s desire to prevent businesses escaping illegal working liability by structuring arrangements through intermediated or platform-based models.
For founders and investors, this means that legal risk no longer sits solely with the individual worker or end customer. The platform itself may have direct exposure.
What are the risks of getting it wrong?
The principal risk is exposure to civil penalties for illegal working.
Employers and other organisations falling within the regime can avoid liability only if they establish the statutory excuse through compliance with the prescribed checking requirements.
Beyond the financial penalties, there are wider commercial consequences:
- regulatory scrutiny;
- reputational damage;
- disruption to platform operations;
- possible loss of customer confidence;
- increased due diligence issues during investment or acquisition processes; and
- potential personal liability for founders if they carelessly warrant the business as compliant when it is not.
For venture-backed businesses, immigration compliance is likely to become a much more prominent diligence item, particularly where a platform’s business model depends on large volumes of independent service providers.
What should online platforms be doing now?
Although the new guidance comes into force on 1 October 2026, businesses should not wait until then to prepare.
Platform operators should consider taking the following steps now:
- Review whether the business falls within the Home Office definition of an online matching service.
- Map the worker onboarding journey and identify where RTW checks should be introduced.
- Audit existing service providers to understand the scale of the compliance exercise.
- Review contracts, terms of use and platform documentation.
- Implement record-keeping systems capable of evidencing compliance.
- Train relevant operational and compliance teams.
- Consider whether external RTW verification providers should be used to support compliance processes.
Key takeaways
The extension of the RTW regime to online matching platforms represents one of the most significant regulatory developments for the platform economy in recent years. The Government has made it clear that online marketplaces are now expected to play an active role in preventing illegal working, regardless of whether they consider themselves technology businesses rather than labour providers.
For founders, the key takeaway is simple: if your platform matches individuals with customers for paid work and earns money from those introductions, there is a real possibility that you will be caught by the new regime. Early preparation will be far cheaper than dealing with enforcement action after the rules take effect.
How we can help
Further detail on the changes to the RTW regime can be found in our article Expansion of Right to Work regime from 1 October 2026. We can assist you in navigating this complex new system 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.
If you would like advice on whether your platform falls within the new rules, or assistance designing a compliant onboarding process, please contact Declan , Head of Recruitment Services at Doyle Clayton or Hall, Business Immigration Partner at Doyle Clayton.
