Right to Work Checks Have Expanded: Are Your Contractor and Agency Arrangements Covered?

You use an agency for seasonal cover. You have a handful of self-employed contractors. A subcontractor sends people to your site every week.

You’ve always assumed the right to work checks are someone else’s job. Since 1 October 2026, that assumption needs a closer look. If your arrangements fall within the expanded scheme, failing to prevent illegal working could expose you to a civil penalty of up to £45,000 per worker for a first breach.

In my last right to work newsletter, I flagged that these changes were coming. They’re now live.

What Has Changed

The rules for direct employees still apply.

Since 1 October 2026, the scheme also covers people you engage directly as workers, individual subcontractors, and some online platform arrangements. Civil penalty liability can also extend beyond the direct contractual employer in specified circumstances.

The following labels are a starting point for reviewing your arrangements, not proof that every person in each group is covered:

• 👷 Agency workers
• 🔧 Contractors and sub-contractors
• 📱 Gig economy workers
• 🤝 Service providers
• 
  

Companies that run platforms matching freelancers to clients must also carry out checks.

The penalties haven’t changed, but far more people potentially now fall under them:

• 💰 Up to £45,000 per worker for a first breach
• 💰 Up to £60,000 per worker for repeat breaches
• ⚖️ Prosecution in serious cases, with an unlimited fine and up to five years in prison

Why This Matters for Your Business

This is a big shift for businesses built on flexibility. Naomi Goldshtein, partner at Fragomen, called it a major change for businesses relying on flexibility and seasonal demand, with significant implications.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth. You probably know exactly who your employees are. You probably don’t have the same visibility over agency staff, contractors and the people your suppliers bring in.

That gap is now your risk.

Ilda de Sousa, business immigration partner at Kingsley Napley, points to the sectors most exposed. These are the ones that rely heavily on subcontracting, contingent labour and layered supply chains:

• 🏗️ Construction
• 🍽️ Hospitality
• 🧹 Facilities management
• 🏥 Social care

If you’re in one of these sectors, put this review high on your list. But sector alone doesn’t decide your responsibilities: the contractual arrangement does. Buying services for your own business is different from supplying work or services onwards through a chain of contracts. If you use outsourced or flexible labour, first establish which arrangements are actually in scope.

Ministers have been clear about the intent. Alex Norris, then minister for border security and asylum, said the aim is to close gaps in the framework. Responsibility for preventing illegal working now sits across modern labour market structures, not just with direct employers.

The Mistake to Avoid

“The agency handles that.”

“Our contractor is responsible.”

“It’s in their contract.”

None of these is enough. Simply stating that another party is responsible for the checks will not protect you.

Getting a supplier to say they’ve done the checks is not the same as knowing they’ve done them properly. You need evidence.

Where to Start: Know Your Workforce

Before you fix anything, you need to see everything. Most businesses I speak to can list their employees in minutes. Ask them to list everyone doing work on their behalf and it takes a lot longer.

Map every category of worker and every contractual route into your business. Don’t stop at employees. Look at:

• 📄 Agency worker arrangements
• 👤 Individual subcontractors
• 💻 Online matching or freelance platform arrangements
• 🔄 Contracts that allow someone else to be substituted to do the work

Then ask three questions about each one:

• ❓ Who is actually doing the work?
• ❓ What type of contract are they working under and what happens in practice?
• ❓ How were they recruited, and who checked what?
• 
  

Three Actions You Can Take This Week

📋 1. Map your workforce List every route through which people work for you. Include agencies, contractors, subcontractors, platforms and service providers. Note who is responsible for right to work checks in each case, and whether you can prove they were done.

📑 2. Review your contracts Read your agency, contractor and supplier agreements. Do they require the checks to be done? Do they give you the right to see confirmation? Where they don’t, renegotiate. You need clear provisions on the information and safeguards that UK Visas and Immigration expects.

🔍 3. Ask for proof Don’t wait for a problem. Write to your contractors and service providers now. Ask them to confirm that the required checks have been carried out, and verify that the correct process was followed. Then diarise regular audits so this doesn’t become a one-off exercise.

Train Everyone Who Touches This

This isn’t just an HR issue. HR, recruitment, procurement and operational teams all need training.

Think about how someone actually starts working for you through a contractor. It’s rarely HR who signs that off. It’s often an operations manager who needs a job covered by Monday.

 Where an arrangement falls within the expanded scheme, a manager who doesn’t understand the checking responsibilities can undermine the process before anyone starts work. Build who checks what into onboarding, so it isn’t an afterthought.

Make sure each team knows:

• ✅ That the rules changed on 1 October
• ✅ Who is responsible for checks in each type of arrangement
• ✅ What evidence needs to be kept
• ✅ Who to go to if something doesn’t look right

The Reality Check

I’m not here to panic you. I’m here to help you move forward.

Right to work checks aren’t bureaucracy. Done properly, they protect your business.

The difficulty is knowing whether your contractor, agency or platform arrangements bring additional responsibilities under the expanded scheme. That’s the question to answer before assuming either that you’re covered or that someone else has it handled.

The government has been clear that illegal working will not be tolerated. The penalties are significant, and enforcement has been increasing. Don’t assume you’ll be overlooked because you’re small, or because you use an agency.

The good news is that you can get ahead of this. Know who works for you. Make sure your contracts back you up. Get the evidence in place. Train the people who make the decisions.

It’s far cheaper to do that now than after a penalty notice lands.

Not sure whether your contractor and agency arrangements are covered? Send me a message and we can talk it through. I can help you review your contracts, set up a compliance process and train your managers, before it becomes a problem.

Home Office: Employers Guide to Right to Work Checks