- Key takeaways
- What is changing on 1 October 2026?
- How big is the penalty — and what is the statutory excuse?
- Who is most exposed?
- What businesses should do before 1 October
- FAQ
From 1 October 2026, the UK illegal working regime expands under section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 to cover workers, individual sub-contractors and gig/platform workers — not just employees. Businesses that skip a compliant right-to-work check risk a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per worker.
The UK’s duty to prevent illegal working has, until now, applied mainly to direct employees and apprentices. From 1 October 2026 it reaches a much wider range of working arrangements — a structural change for any business that relies on contractors, agency labour, umbrella companies or platform models.
Here is what changes, who is exposed, and what to put in place before the deadline.
Key takeaways
- Section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 expands the illegal working regime; the changes take effect on 1 October 2026.
- The definition of “employer” now covers people engaged under a worker’s contract, individual sub-contractors, and workers found through online matching services (gig/platform work).
- A new “extended liability” can reach a business even where it has no direct contract with the worker — for example, down a subcontracting chain.
- Civil penalties run up to £60,000 per worker (£45,000 for a first breach, £60,000 for a repeat), with criminal liability in knowing cases.
- The expanded scope applies to engagements starting on or after 1 October 2026; a compliant right-to-work check gives a statutory excuse.
What is changing on 1 October 2026?
On 1 October 2026, the UK expands who counts as an “employer” for right-to-work purposes. Section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 amends the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 to catch workers, individual sub-contractors and platform workers, and introduces extended liability along labour supply chains.
The Act received Royal Assent on 2 December 2025, and the Home Office published a draft revised Code of Practice on preventing illegal working on 30 June 2026, framed to come into force on 1 October 2026. The baseline duty — run a compliant check before work starts, or risk a penalty — does not change. What changes is who it applies to.
- Worker’s contract: individuals engaged as “workers” (not just employees or apprentices) come into scope.
- Individual sub-contractors: people engaged directly as sub-contractors are covered.
- Online matching services: businesses matching service providers with clients — gig and platform models — are caught.
- Extended liability: in defined circumstances a business can face a penalty even without a direct contract with the worker, for example where illegal working occurs further down a subcontracting chain.
Importantly, these people do not become employees for employment-law purposes. The change is about immigration compliance duties and civil-penalty exposure, not employment status — though the two interact, and getting status wrong elsewhere can compound the risk.
| Working arrangement | Before | From 1 October 2026 |
| Direct employees / apprentices | In scope | In scope |
| Workers under a worker’s contract | Out of scope | In scope |
| Individual sub-contractors | Out of scope | In scope |
| Gig / platform (online matching) | Out of scope | In scope |
| Down a subcontracting chain | No direct liability | Possible extended liability |
How big is the penalty — and what is the statutory excuse?
Civil penalties run up to £60,000 per worker — £45,000 for a first breach and £60,000 for a repeat — with potential criminal liability where an employer knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, a person has no right to work. A compliant right-to-work check, done before work starts, provides a statutory excuse from the civil penalty.
The statutory excuse is the whole game. It is the protection you get by carrying out the prescribed right-to-work check, at the right time, in the right way, on the person actually doing the work. Perform the check late, incompletely, or on the wrong person, and the excuse can fail even though a check was “done”.
For businesses that engage large numbers of non-employees, the exposure is per worker and it multiplies quickly. A published penalty also carries a reputational cost — it signals to clients and workers that a business does not control its own supply chain.
Who is most exposed?
The reach is broadest for businesses built on flexible labour. Recruitment agencies and umbrella companies sit squarely in scope, as do sectors that lean on contingent workers — construction, logistics, hospitality, care, food delivery, warehousing, cleaning and facilities management.
The agencies we support most often assume that a self-employed contractor or a worker they place sits outside right-to-work duties. From 1 October, that assumption is the exposure. Where several parties engage the same worker, responsibility has to be documented — which party runs the check, keeps the evidence, and refreshes it when a time-limited right to work expires. A verbal understanding is worth nothing in front of an enforcement officer.
What businesses should do before 1 October
- Map every worker category you engage — employees, workers, individual sub-contractors, agency and platform workers — and identify who is newly in scope.
- Assign, in writing, which party performs the right-to-work check, retains the evidence, and refreshes time-limited checks.
- Update onboarding so a compliant check is completed before work starts for all in-scope engagements beginning on or after 1 October 2026.
- Review subcontracting chains for extended-liability exposure and build check requirements into contracts and audits.
- Train the people who onboard contractors and agency staff — most failed statutory excuses come from a check done late or incompletely, not from no check at all.
For recruitment agencies and businesses that engage contractors, Access Financial’s Agent of Record and contractor-management services handle worker classification and compliant engagement, and our UK team can help build right-to-work checks into your onboarding before the deadline — request a free compliance review.
FAQ
What changes on 1 October 2026 for right-to-work checks?
From 1 October 2026, right-to-work checks expand beyond employees to cover workers under a worker’s contract, individual sub-contractors and gig/platform workers, under section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025. A new extended liability can also reach businesses down a subcontracting chain.
How much is the UK illegal working civil penalty?
The UK illegal working civil penalty runs up to £60,000 per worker — £45,000 for a first breach and £60,000 for a repeat breach. Knowing employment of someone without the right to work can also lead to criminal liability. A compliant right-to-work check provides a statutory excuse from the civil penalty.
Do right-to-work checks apply to contractors and agency workers?
From 1 October 2026, right-to-work checks apply to a wider range of engagements including individual sub-contractors, agency workers and platform workers. Recruitment agencies and umbrella companies are squarely in scope, so businesses must decide and document which party carries out and retains each check.
Does the new regime change employment status?
The new regime does not change employment status. Workers, sub-contractors and platform workers do not become employees for employment-law purposes because they are now in scope for right-to-work checks. The change concerns immigration compliance duties and civil-penalty exposure, not their legal status.