Right to work checks and avoiding sanctions

You can avoid this by ensuring full right to work checks are conducted in keeping with the latest Home Office guidance. We provide specialist advice on the range of illegal working offences and how to avoid them, also how to respond if you fall foul. Following a slow-down during the pandemic, the Home Office has resumed compliance visits and official figures already show a big rise in enforcement visits and penalties too.

Employers can fall foul of illegal working enforcement with common simple mistakes such as conducting a right to work check after a new employee has started work (including as part of their induction on their first day).

There are simple steps to avoid civil penalties, though liability and the rights to work checks regime is set to expand beyond workers employed under traditional contracts of employment on 1 October 2026.

Please reach out if you need assistance and we would be very happy to provide expert guidance, including training and updated HR policies.

What are the October 2026 right to work changes?

Organisations will need to protect themselves against a civil penalty for failing to prevent illegal working in four types of working arrangement.  These are categorised as:

• traditional contracts of employment
• worker’s contracts
• individual sub-contractors; and
• workers listed on online matching services (such as gig economy platforms).

Extended liability means hefty civil penalties can reach beyond the direct employer to businesses that subcontract work, online matching services, and businesses whose contracts permit workers to substitute their labour for another worker’s.

Businesses exposed to extended liability can protect themselves through meeting rigorous prescribed requirements, including

• specific contractual terms;
• substitution controls; and
• identity verification systems.

If your business uses a digital identity provider for checks, from 1 October 2026 it must now be a registered “RtW DVSP” – a Right to Work Digital Verification Service provider registered on the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) register, and specifically authorised for right to work checks.

The changes apply to engagements commencing on or after 1 October 2026. Working arrangements which started before that date are excluded (though contracts of employment remain subject to the existing rules as now).

There have been many changes to how right to work checks should be conducted over the past years, and if you have any concerns we can help audit your processes to check they were compliant at the time and therefor would protect you from prosecution.

We can advise you on all aspects of the ever-changing right to work check rules and how to avoid civil penalties, criminal sanction and related adverse consequences if you are a sponsor licence holder with specialist advice on carrying out fully compliant right to work checks.

Click here for our guide to preparing for these changes and protecting yourself with right to work best practice. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any questions you need answering or training on the new changes.

What are the penalties for illegal working in the UK?

Fines have tripled for employers and landlords who employ or rent to those without permission to work or rent in recent years. The civil penalty for employers is now up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach. The fine for repeated breaches will be increased from £20,000 to up to £60,000.

Employers that are licensed sponsors can face potential sponsor licence revocation and where a business knew or had reasonable cause to believe a worker did not have the right to work, criminal liability can ensue – which can mean an unlimited fine and up to five years’ imprisonment. Immigration Officers also have the power to issue an illegal working closure notice which will immediately shut down your business premises for up to two days, which can then be extended for up to 12 months via an illegal working compliance order issued by the Court.

If you want any more details regarding Right to Work checks, sponsoring migrant workers, or for a review of your compliance procedures, please feel free to contact us to discuss. The team are highly regarded for business immigration in major legal guides and are experienced in working closely with different sectors and firms of all sizes from start ups to big multinational brands. According to The Times Best Law Firms: “Clients include global corporations looking for a British footprint, sponsorship advice or insights about transferring staff to the UK. The firm has established contacts among Home Office policymakers.”

According to Legal 500: “the highly regarded team at Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law stands out for ‘the strength of its team members, its responsiveness and industry knowledge’, advising on all areas of UK immigration and nationality law. Considered ’a clear expert in her field’, practice head Vanessa Ganguin harnesses three decades of business, personal and human rights immigration expertise.”