Home Office Updates Right to Work Guidance Ahead of October Reforms

Employers’ Right to Work Guidance Updated July 2026

The Home Office has published updated employer guidance ahead of the expanded Right to Work regime taking effect on 1 October 2026. The revised guidance provides the first detailed explanation of how the Home Office expects the new regime to operate in practice.

Much of the additional guidance focuses on the expanded Right to Work Scheme introduced by the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025. It provides greater detail on how the Home Office intends to apply the new provisions governing extended liability, worker’s contracts, individual subcontractors, online matching services and many gig economy operating models, together with the wider compliance expectations for businesses using more flexible workforce arrangements. Importantly, the guidance explains the Home Office’s interpretation of the legislation rather than creating new legal obligations.

As well as covering some of the practical questions left open by the legislation, the guidance also makes clear that compliance will extend well beyond carrying out a prescribed right to work check. Greater emphasis is to be placed on contractual controls, substitution procedures, identity verification, governance arrangements and maintaining evidence capable of demonstrating compliance in practice. The guidance repeatedly emphasises that contractual arrangements must operate effectively in practice, not merely exist on paper.

The biggest practical impact is therefore likely to be felt by organisations using subcontracting arrangements, contractor workforces, online matching services, gig economy platforms and other non-traditional workforce engagement models. For those organisations, demonstrating compliance is going to extend beyond carrying out a prescribed right to work check and into wider contractual controls and evidence that compliance arrangements are operating effectively in practice.

What is ‘Extended Liability’?

Extended liability has generated more discussion than almost any other aspect of the October reforms. The legislation expanded the Right to Work regime beyond traditional employment relationships, but left employers with relatively little indication of how those provisions would operate across more complex contractual arrangements.

The updated draft guidance confirms that the employer with the direct contractual relationship remains responsible for carrying out the prescribed right to work check and establishing the primary statutory excuse. The extended liability provisions do not automatically transfer that responsibility simply because another organisation forms part of the contractual chain.

Where illegal working is identified, the Home Office will first seek to identify the direct employer. It will then consider the wider contractual arrangements before deciding whether liability may extend further. In reaching that decision, the guidance states that the Home Office will consider the role performed by each organisation, who is responsible for providing or arranging the work or services and whether the prescribed requirements for establishing a statutory excuse have been met.

The worked examples are useful because they distinguish between businesses delivering work or services through contractual arrangements and those simply purchasing services for their own operations. Construction projects involving multiple subcontractors, logistics contracts delivered through contractual chains and certain online matching services are all identified as arrangements that may fall within scope, while businesses purchasing cleaning services, organisations engaging temporary workers through an employment business and companies purchasing goods from another supplier would not ordinarily fall within the extended liability provisions.

Although the examples provide useful practical guidance, employers should avoid assuming that every contractual arrangement will produce the same outcome. The guidance makes clear that liability will continue to depend on the contractual arrangements and how they operate in practice.

Identity Verification

The updated guidance places more emphasis on identity verification than previous versions. Alongside confirming an individual’s immigration status, employers should also be satisfied that the person carrying out the work is the same individual whose right to work has been checked, particularly where substitution arrangements or more flexible workforce models apply.

While employers are not required to adopt digital identity verification, those choosing to rely on prescribed digital verification must use a registered Right to Work Digital Verification Service Provider (RtW DVSP). Depending on the operating model and level of risk, employers may also wish to consider whether existing identity verification processes provide sufficient assurance that the correct individual is undertaking the work.

Which Employers Will Be Affected?

Businesses using more flexible workforce models are likely to be affected by the new rules. Organisations delivering work through subcontracting arrangements, engaging individuals under worker’s contracts, operating gig economy or online matching platforms, or managing complex contractual supply chains should review both their contractual arrangements and compliance procedures in light of the updated guidance.

Businesses relying on substitution clauses should also review their arrangements carefully. The guidance makes clear that where one worker is permitted to substitute another, employers should have processes ensuring the substitute’s right to work is verified before work begins and that the individual carrying out the work is the same person whose identity has been checked.

The guidance is likely to be particularly relevant for construction businesses, outsourced service providers, logistics operators, labour platforms, marketplace businesses and organisations that rely heavily on contractors or contingent workers. Larger organisations using multiple tiers of subcontractors or labour suppliers should also consider whether existing contracts contain appropriate right to work obligations, audit rights and compliance provisions consistent with the Home Office’s expectations.

For employers with more straightforward recruitment models, the guidance is more likely to provide reassurance than require significant operational change. Businesses operating more complex workforce engagement models, however, should use the period before 1 October 2026 to review their compliance framework and ensure it reflects the expanded scope of the Right to Work Scheme.

How to Prepare for 1 October 2026 Right to Work Changes

One of the key messages running throughout the revised guidance is that the Home Office expects compliance to extend beyond carrying out an initial right to work check. Where the expanded Right to Work rules apply, employers should also be able to demonstrate that appropriate contractual obligations, governance arrangements and practical controls remain in place throughout the working relationship.

For organisations operating within contractual supply chains, the guidance sets out the types of contractual provisions expected to support a statutory excuse. These include obligations requiring prescribed right to work checks to be completed, restrictions on further subcontracting without approval, contractual audit rights, cooperation with Home Office investigations and enforcement provisions where illegal working is identified.

The guidance also makes clear that contractual provisions alone are unlikely to be sufficient. Organisations should be able to demonstrate that those arrangements operate effectively in practice through audit records, compliance monitoring and other evidence where requested by the Home Office.

The guidance also places greater emphasis on substitution arrangements. Where contracts allow one individual to be replaced by another, employers should ensure that substitute workers cannot begin work until a prescribed right to work check has been completed. The guidance also recommends processes to verify that the individual carrying out the work is the same person whose right to work has been checked.

Alongside evidence of the prescribed right to work check itself, the guidance highlights the importance of maintaining appropriate contractual documentation, audit records, substitution records and other evidence capable of demonstrating that compliance arrangements operate effectively in practice rather than existing only on paper. Businesses should therefore use the period before 1 October to review the contractual and operational controls supporting their existing compliance arrangements, and review the records retained to demonstrate compliance.