A right to work check is a mandatory check that every UK employer must carry out before a person starts work. When the check follows Home Office rules and is properly recorded, the employer gains a statutory excuse against a civil penalty that now reaches £60,000 for each illegal worker. From 1 October 2026, the same duties extend to individual sub-contractors, people engaged on a worker’s contract and online matching platforms.
What a right to work check is and why it matters to employers
A right to work check is the procedure prescribed under section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. The law does not expect employers to be immigration experts. It asks for something more practical: complete specific steps before employment begins and keep evidence that those steps were taken. If a worker later turns out to have no right to work, that evidence becomes the basis of the employer’s defence.
The logic of the system is simple. The government places the first line of control over illegal working on those who hire. That is why penalties are not limited to employers who knowingly take on people without status. A well-meaning business can also be fined if it checked someone informally, accepted the wrong document or forgot a follow-up check. For the Home Office, intent matters less than a correctly recorded check on the date employment started.
The procedure is set out in the official Employer’s guide to right to work checks, and the current version applies to checks carried out from 1 October 2026. A separate statutory code of practice explains how the amount of any civil penalty is calculated.
What changed on 1 October 2026
Until October 2026, the duty to check right to work applied mainly to employees under a contract of employment. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 widened the regime, and a written ministerial statement of 30 June 2026 confirmed that the new rules and their enforcement would start in October 2026. The updated guide and code of practice have applied since 1 October 2026.
The scheme now covers:
- people on a worker’s contract — individuals who personally perform work or services for you where you are not their client or customer;
- individual sub-contractors — individuals working for you under a contract you have entered into with a third party;
- online matching services — platforms that keep a register of service providers, match them with clients and charge a fee or commission;
- parties in labour supply chains and contracts that allow substitution — extended liability now applies to them under section 15A of the 2006 Act.
One transitional point matters in practice. For worker’s contracts and individual sub-contractors, a civil penalty can only be imposed where the work started on or after 1 October 2026. The contractual requirements for labour supply chains apply to arrangements entered into from that date. There is no duty to recheck every existing contractor retrospectively, but every new engagement already falls under the new rules. Digital checks have changed too: only providers registered by the government can now be used.
For an overseas business that is entering the UK market and needs to register a UK company, it is far easier to build the check into the hiring process from day one than to fix gaps across a workforce later.
Who must be checked and when
The short answer: everyone who starts working for you, before their first working day. That includes British citizens. The guide requires checks to be carried out consistently for all workers, regardless of nationality or perceived immigration status. Checking only people who seem to be foreign is a fast route to a discrimination claim, and if a tribunal upholds the complaint, compensation has no upper limit.
The timing of checks depends on the type of right to work:
- Unlimited right to work (a British or Irish passport, indefinite status): a single check before employment gives a continuous statutory excuse for the whole period of work.
- Time-limited right to work (visas with an end date, such as the Skilled Worker visa): the excuse lasts until the permission expires, and a follow-up check is needed before that date.
- List B Group 2 documents and confirmations from the Employer Checking Service: the excuse lasts six months, after which the check must be repeated.
There is no requirement for a retrospective check on EEA citizens who started working for you before 1 July 2021. Irish citizens have unrestricted access to the labour market, but they still need to be checked, usually with a passport or passport card.
Three ways to check: documents, share code and digital provider
The guide allows three methods of checking. An employer cannot insist on a particular method: the person must be given a reasonable opportunity to prove their right to work in the way available to them. At the same time, each method only works for certain documents.
| Method | Suitable for | What to do | What to keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual document check | Holders of original documents from List A or List B (for example, a British passport) | Obtain the original and check it in the holder’s presence (in person or by live video): authenticity, photo, date of birth, expiry and work restrictions | A clear copy of each document and the date of the check |
| Home Office online check via share code | Holders of an eVisa or other digital status; for eVisa holders, the only method available | Obtain the share code and date of birth, view the profile in the Home Office service and match the photo to the person | A PDF or HTML copy of the profile page |
| Right to Work Digital Verification Service Provider (DVSP) | Holders of valid British or Irish passports (or those expired by no more than 6 months) and Irish passport cards | Carry out the check through a government-registered provider | A copy of the check result |
Employers carry out the online check through View a job applicant’s right to work details, while the worker generates a code through Prove your right to work. A share code is valid for 90 calendar days from issue. Codes beginning with R or S are issued for other purposes, such as renting a home, and cannot be used for a right to work check. The photo on the profile must be matched to the person in person, by video call or with facial recognition technology.
A word on physical cards. Following the move to eVisas, a manual check of an expired biometric residence permit (BRP) is no longer acceptable proof of right to work. If a worker presents a plastic card, the correct response is to ask for a share code and complete an online check.
When the Employer Checking Service is needed
If a person cannot show documents or an online status, the employer can ask the Home Office to verify it through the Employer Checking Service. Typical situations include an outstanding application or appeal, a non-digital Certificate of Application or an Application Registration Card, and long-term residents who arrived before 1988 without documents. According to the guide, the service aims to reply within five working days. A Positive Verification Notice provides an excuse for six months from the date stated in it.
The statutory excuse: how employers avoid a penalty
A statutory excuse is not a certificate issued by the Home Office but the legal result of a correctly completed check. If the prescribed check is done before employment starts and, for time-limited permission, repeated on time, the employer does not pay a civil penalty even if the worker later turns out to have no right to work. The exception is where the employer knew they were employing someone without that right.
Conditions that keep an employer’s statutory excuse in place
- Completion of the check before the first working day, not after the start
- Use of the only method permitted for each document or digital status
- Comparison of photos, dates of birth and expiry dates on every document
- Review of work restrictions such as weekly hour limits or permitted roles
- Retention of copies throughout employment and for two years afterwards
- Recording of the date of the check on every single record kept
- Follow-up checks scheduled before time-limited permission expires
If a digital verification provider gets it wrong, the responsibility still sits with the employer: the guide states plainly that no excuse arises where the prescribed requirements are not met. The same applies when you ask a member of staff to carry out checks. The task can be delegated, but the business remains accountable.
Penalties and other consequences of illegal working
According to the official GOV.UK page on penalties, an employer that has not carried out a correct check can receive a civil penalty of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker. If the employer knew or had reasonable cause to believe that the person had no right to work, it becomes a criminal offence carrying up to five years in prison and an unlimited fine.
The actual amount of a civil penalty is calculated under the Home Office code of practice on preventing illegal working:
| Factor | Rule under the code |
|---|---|
| First breach | Starting point of £45,000 per worker |
| Repeat breach (within three years) | Starting point of £60,000 per worker |
| Reporting the breach before the Home Office identifies it | Reduction of £5,000 per worker |
| Active cooperation with the investigation | Reduction of £5,000 per worker |
| First breach with reporting, cooperation and effective right to work practices | A Warning Notice may be issued instead of a penalty |
| Faster Payment Option | 30% reduction if paid within 21 days, first penalty only |
A fine is not the only consequence. The code lists business closure and a court-issued compliance order, director disqualification, losing the ability to sponsor migrant workers, a review of sector licences (alcohol, late-night refreshment, taxi and private hire) and publication of the business name in the list of non-compliant employers on GOV.UK. For a company with a market reputation, that last point is often more damaging than the penalty itself.
Benefits of professional support with right to work compliance
- Audit of existing right to work records for every employee and contractor
- Selection of the correct check method for each type of document
- Hiring procedure that HR teams and line managers can follow easily
- Calendar of follow-up checks based on each worker’s permission dates
- Review of contractor and agency agreements under the 2026 rules
- Preparation for Home Office compliance visits, including a mock audit
- Representation after a penalty notice and drafting of the objection
How Imperial & Legal sets up your checks: 5 stages
Right to work compliance is not a one-off service but a process that, once set up, runs without constant input from a lawyer. Below is the typical path for an employer, from the first consultation to ongoing monitoring. Timeframes are indicative and depend on headcount, the number of contractors and the state of existing records.
Consultation and review of current hiring practice
Audit of right to work records across the workforce
Closing gaps and repeating checks where needed
Hiring procedure rollout and training for HR teams
Ongoing monitoring and support during Home Office visits
You can stop after the consultation and audit and roll out the procedure with your own team. For smaller businesses, that is often enough.
What documents and records to keep
The record of a check is the key evidence during a compliance visit. The guide requires it to be kept securely for the whole period of employment and for two years afterwards. Each record must show the date of the check, and its content depends on the method used:
- for a manual check — clear copies of every document checked; for a passport, copy any page with the expiry date, nationality, date of birth, signature, photo and any immigration permission or entitlement to work (the front cover does not need copying);
- for an online check — a PDF or HTML copy of the profile page from the Home Office service;
- for a check through a digital verification provider — a copy of the check result;
- for an Employer Checking Service request — the Positive Verification Notice received.
In practice, it helps to keep right to work records alongside HR and payroll documents, so expiry tracking is linked to payroll runs and leavers. If an external provider runs your payroll, agree the process with them. Accounting services at Imperial & Legal include both payroll and PAYE registration for employers.
Common mistakes employers make
Most penalties arise not from bad intent but from small procedural errors that build up over the years. The most common ones are:
- Checking after the start date. Someone begins a trial shift and the paperwork follows a week later. There is no excuse for the period before the check.
- The wrong document. A driving licence, a bank card or an expired BRP does not prove the right to work.
- No date on the record. An undated copy cannot show that the check took place before work began.
- A missed follow-up check. A worker’s visa expired, nobody checked the extension, and the excuse lapsed.
- Restrictions ignored. A student with a weekly hour limit works more than permitted, or a worker is not allowed to do that role.
- The wrong share code. A code for renting (starting with R) or an expired code cannot be used for a right to work check.
- Contractors left out. Since October 2026, people on worker’s contracts and individual sub-contractors also need checks, and agency agreements need reviewing.
Each of these mistakes can be fixed while the Home Office is unaware of it. After an enforcement visit, there is much less room for manoeuvre.
Employer compliance support
Right to work checks built into one clear system
Workforce records audit
Copies, dates and follow-up checks reviewed for every worker
Ready-to-use procedure
Step-by-step process, record templates and expiry tracking
Training for HR teams
Share codes, eVisas and the ECS explained on your own cases
Penalty defence
Objection to the Home Office and preparation for an appeal
What to do if you receive a penalty notice
The process starts with a notice that the case has been referred to the Home Office Civil Penalty Compliance Team, together with an information request. This is the first and a very important opportunity to provide evidence of a statutory excuse. The Home Office then issues one of three decisions: a Civil Penalty Notice with a statement of case, a Warning Notice, or a No Action Notice.
If a penalty is imposed, the employer can lodge a written objection within 28 days of the due date stated in the notice. The grounds are that you are not the employer of that person, that you have a statutory excuse, or that the amount has been calculated incorrectly. After the objection decision, there are a further 28 days to appeal to the County Court in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or to the Sheriff Court in Scotland.
Deadlines are short and the case has to be built on documents, so it is best to speak to a lawyer as soon as the first letter arrives, not once a penalty has been imposed. In parallel, it is worth assessing whether reductions for cooperation apply and whether to use the faster payment discount: paying usually means giving up the challenge.
Right to work checks for sponsor licence holders
For businesses with a sponsor licence, a right to work check is also a sponsor duty. Under sponsor guidance part 3, sponsored workers must be checked before their employment starts and again where their permission is time-limited, even if you do not need a statutory excuse under the general scheme. If a sponsor receives a civil penalty for illegal working, the licence is likely to be revoked, and a new application cannot be made for at least 12 months.
Revocation affects more than future hiring. Sponsored employees already working for you on a Skilled Worker or UK Expansion Worker visa face having their permission curtailed or needing to switch sponsor. That is why, for sponsors, a right to work audit is part of wider preparation for a compliance visit, alongside reporting through the Sponsor Management System and keeping workers’ contact details up to date.
Practical examples
A typical scenario: a restaurant or café chain has, for years, hired people on the strength of a driving licence or undated photocopies. Without a compliance visit, the problem stays hidden. When inspectors do arrive, it turns out that part of the team has no proper records and one or two people have no right to work. If the records cannot be rebuilt, the defence is limited to reductions for cooperation.
A second common scenario is a sponsor that checks only its sponsored workers and does not track visa expiry for the rest of its staff. During an inspection, this becomes grounds for suspending the licence. A third scenario, new for 2026, is a business that relies on individual contractors and assumes checks do not apply to it. Below are real client stories in which Home Office compliance and hiring requirements played a central role.
Client stories on this topic
Reinstating Sponsorship Licence after Unexpected Home Office Visit
It has been nearly four years since Company A applied for and received a sponsorship licence for hiring foreign specialists in the UK....
Reinstating Suspended Sponsor Licence after Unjustified Accusations
Travel Agency C’s main clients are Chinese tourists. Because of that, all employees need to have knowledge of Chinese traditions and culture and speak...
Sponsorship Licence for British Restaurant
Edward Johnson is a restaurant owner in a Cheshire town. The coronavirus pandemic caused staff shortages. Unfortunately, most job applicants are either young specialists without any experience or...
Getting checks right matters just as much for businesses hiring from abroad for the first time. The head of a pharmaceutical company described how her first overseas hire went:
This was not the first time I came to Imperial & Legal for advice, and they always help me achieve my goal. This time I wanted to employ an Argentinian specialist who looked like the right fit for a vacancy at our London office. However, I had no idea how to prepare the necessary documents, to help the person apply for a UK work visa and relocate to the UK. Imperial & Legal worked their magic again.
What a mistake can cost: a worked penalty example
To gauge the risk, it helps to run the numbers using the formula in the code of practice. Suppose inspectors find three workers with no right to work and no correct check records. The table below shows the calculation for a first and a repeat breach. The example is simplified and does not reflect individual circumstances that the Home Office weighs in each case.
| Scenario | First breach | Repeat breach |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point for 3 workers | 3 × £45,000 = £135,000 | 3 × £60,000 = £180,000 |
| With reporting and cooperation (−£10,000 per worker) | 3 × £35,000 = £105,000 | 3 × £50,000 = £150,000 |
| With the 30% discount for payment within 21 days | £73,500 | Discount not available |
By comparison, the cost of an audit and procedure set-up depends on headcount and the number of contractors and is quoted after an initial consultation. Even for a small business, it is usually a fraction of a single penalty, before taking into account the risk of losing a sponsor licence or appearing on the public list of non-compliant employers.
Where to start as an employer
A right to work check is simple in substance but strict in form. Protection comes not from the fact that a worker had status, but from a correct check before work began, a dated record and a timely follow-up check. The October 2026 changes widened the circle of people who must be checked, so even businesses with established HR processes should take a fresh look at their arrangements with contractors, agencies and platforms.
Key takeaways
- Check every person before their first working day, including British citizens.
- eVisa holders can only prove their right to work through an online share code check.
- Keep dated copies for the whole period of employment and two years afterwards.
- Keep a calendar of follow-up checks for workers with time-limited permission.
- Since 1 October 2026, worker’s contracts, individual sub-contractors and online platforms are within the scheme.
- The starting point for a first breach is £45,000 per worker, and £60,000 for a repeat breach.
If you are not sure your records would withstand an inspection, start with a short consultation and a sample audit. It is a quick way to understand the scale of the risk before the Home Office does. This page provides general information and is not individual legal advice.
