How upcoming Right to Work changes could affect your business
Tools & Resources
Key learnings
- New Right to Work requirements coming into force in October 2026 extend beyond traditional employment relationships to some wider working arrangements.
- Businesses that engage contractors, subcontractors, workers or labour providers may need to review their existing compliance processes.
- The introduction of extended liability means organisations may need to consider responsibilities across labour supply chains, not just direct hires.
- Contracts that allow individuals to provide substitutes could require additional attention under the new rules.
- Reviewing onboarding, identity verification and record-keeping processes now can help businesses prepare ahead of implementation.
- Understanding how people deliver work within your organisation is the first step to identifying whether the new obligations apply to you
From 1 October 2026, changes to Right to Work requirements will extend responsibilities beyond traditional employer-employee relationships and into a wider range of working arrangements.
For many businesses, existing Right to Work checks will remain unchanged. However, organisations that engage workers, contractors, subcontractors or individuals through online platforms may need to review their processes to understand whether additional obligations apply.
The changes form part of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 and are designed to prevent illegal working across increasingly complex labour supply chains.
What's changing?
Traditionally, Right to Work obligations have focused on direct employment relationships.
From October 2026, the scope of those obligations will be widened to include additional working arrangements, including:
• Some workers engaged under a worker's contract
• Certain subcontracting arrangements
• Some online matching services that connect individuals with customers or clients
• Arrangements where an individual can send a substitute to carry out work on their behalf.
The Home Office has also introduced the concept of extended liability, meaning Right to Work responsibilities may apply beyond the organisation that has the direct relationship with the individual carrying out the work.
For businesses that rely on contractors, labour providers or outsourced services, this is an important development.
Will these changes affect your business?
Ask yourself:
- Do we engage self-employed contractors?
- Do we use subcontractors to deliver services?
- Do we provide workers to clients?
- Do we use online platforms to source workers?
- Do individuals have the ability to send someone else to carry out work on their behalf?
- Do we rely on labour supplied through a chain of contracts?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, it's worth reviewing the draft guidance and assessing whether the new obligations could apply to your arrangements.
What should businesses do now?
1
Review your workforce arrangements
Start by mapping how work is delivered across your organisation.
Many businesses have evolved over time and now engage people through a mixture of:
- Employees
- Workers
- Freelancers
- Contractors
- Agencies
- Outsourced providers
Understanding these relationships is the first step towards identifying whether additional Right to Work responsibilities may apply.
2
Check contracts and substitution clauses
One area receiving particular attention in the new guidance is labour substitution.
If contractual arrangements allow one individual to send a substitute to carry out work or services, additional obligations may arise. Businesses should review existing contracts and understand how substitution arrangements operate in practice.
3
Review onboarding processes
Businesses should consider whether existing onboarding procedures remain appropriate for all categories of worker they engage.
While organisations may already have robust checks for employees, they should assess whether similar processes are needed for other types of engagement covered by the new rules.
4
Understand your supply chain risks
The introduction of extended liability means businesses should take a closer look at labour supply chains and outsourced service arrangements.
Employers may want to seek assurance that suppliers and labour providers are conducting appropriate checks and maintaining compliant processes.
5
Stay up to date
The Home Office guidance is currently in draft form, with further information expected before the changes take effect.
Keeping up to date with the final guidance will help businesses ensure they understand exactly what is expected and where their responsibilities begin and end.
Many employers already have established Right to Work processes for employees. The challenge now is understanding whether those processes need to extend to other working arrangements.
Businesses that use contractors, subcontractors, labour providers or online matching services should take time to review how work is delivered across their organisation and identify any areas where the new rules may apply. Starting that review now will make it easier to prepare ahead of the 1 October 2026 implementation date.
Next steps...
- If you're unsure whether the new Right to Work requirements apply to your business, seeking specialist HR or employment law advice can help you assess your obligations and update your processes with confidence.
- UMi Sat Nav subscribers can get 15% off specialist support from Croner.