Since 1 October 2026, right to work checks are no longer just about your employees. The rules now reach workers, individual subcontractors and people found through gig and matching platforms. In some cases they reach the businesses further up the chain too. If you use subcontractors or suppliers to deliver work for your clients, this is one to get on top of now.
I know a new rule like this can feel like one more thing on an already full plate. The good news is that most of it comes down to knowing who is doing the work, putting the right terms in your contracts and checking that they're followed. Once that's in place, you're well protected.
What has changed?
For years, right to work checks only applied to people you employed directly. From 1 October 2026 the rules also cover people on worker contracts, such as casual and zero hours staff, individual subcontractors working in a contracting chain and people engaged through online platforms that match them with work.
The penalties are significant. A civil penalty can be up to £60,000 for each person found working illegally and knowingly employing someone without the right to work is a criminal offence. Businesses can also be publicly named, which can do lasting damage to a hard earned reputation.
What it means if you use subcontractors
Picture a cleaning company that wins a contract with an office in Milton Keynes and brings in a self-employed cleaner to cover some of the shifts. Under the new rules that cleaner needs a right to work check before they start. If the cleaner sends a substitute, the substitute needs checking too. The same applies to a builder who passes part of a job to an individual trade, a facilities firm using freelance engineers or an events business booking extra staff through an app.
Liability can also travel up the chain. If the Home Office finds someone working illegally, it can look at every business above them, not only the one that hired them. To protect yourself you need a written agreement with your subcontractor or supplier, in place before the work starts, that covers five things:
- Right to work checks on everyone they use, including follow up checks for anyone with time limited permission.
- No further subcontracting without your agreement and with the same obligations passed down the line.
- Audit rights so you can ask to see evidence that the checks have been done.
- Enforcement, such as being able to suspend or end the contract if the rules are broken.
- Cooperation with any Home Office investigation.
Paperwork alone isn't enough. The Home Office will want to see that these arrangements work in practice, so ask suppliers how they check people, follow up on it and make sure the person on site is the person who was checked.
Who isn't covered?
Someone who genuinely runs their own business and contracts directly with you, such as a designer working through their own limited company, is generally outside the rules. Calling someone self-employed doesn't settle it though. What matters is how the arrangement actually works day to day.
Getting it right the first time
Start by listing everyone who does work for your business: employees, casual staff, agency workers, freelancers and subcontractors. Then check your contracts and supplier terms, update them for new work and add the terms to existing contracts at renewal. If you use an online provider for digital checks, make sure it's on the government's register of certified providers. And check everyone in the same way, whatever their background, so you stay on the right side of discrimination law too.
Why it's good for business
It's easy to see this as more admin but done properly it's a real selling point. When you know who is doing the work and can show that every check is in place, your clients can trust your supply chain and you can say so with confidence.
- Win and keep contracts. More clients and tenders now ask how you manage your supply chain. Clear answers and good records set you apart.
- Fewer surprises on site. No last minute replacements or people turning up who haven't been checked, so work runs smoothly for your clients.
- Protect your reputation. Your clients' good name is linked to yours and a well run supply chain protects you both.
Make sure you're compliant. Not sure where you stand? Book your free 30 minute HR chat. It's a no obligation conversation to assess where you are and how we can get you all squared up.
This article is general guidance rather than legal advice and reflects the law at the date of publication. For complex supply chains, take specialist advice. Sources: GOV.UK: employer's guide to right to work checks, GOV.UK: penalties for employing illegal workers and Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025, section 48.