Read James Lamont’s explainer on right to work and illegal work liability changes in HR Magazine

1 October 2026

“From 1 October 2026, UK law is treating your organisation as the employer of people you may have never met or signed up to an employment contract. If they lack the right to work, you could be landed with a civil penalty – or worse,” Senior Associate writes in the latest edition of HR Magazine.

HR practitioners are all too familiar with right to work checks, which if carried out correctly before someone starts work establish a “statutory excuse” protecting employers from civil penalties if they work illegally. Section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025, which amends the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, changes that in two ways from 1 October 2026.

• From 1 October 2026, the definition of “employment” for right to work expands to cover worker’s contracts, individual subcontractors and online matching services matching workers to clients, in addition to traditional contracts of employment.
• A new “extended liability” regime means a business can face a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker found in its subcontracting chain, through an online matching service it operates, or under a substitution clause, even if there is no direct relationship with the worker.

In James Lamont’s latest article on the subject he examines how HR teams should react and who else they need to involve in their organisation to ensure they are protected against illegal working liability under the new regime.

“Compliance expertise currently rests with HR, but these changes involve other colleagues as well as expert immigration and contract legal advice for drafting contracts for subcontracting work or services,” writes James.

“Added terms should include right to work checks on workers before they start; prior written consent for further sub-contracting; permission to audit subcontractors’ right to work compliance; enabling enforcement action where illegal working is identified with no statutory excuse – including, but not limited to, suspension or termination of contracts; and requiring co-operation with Home Office illegal working investigations. Contractual terms alone are not enough. Protection from civil penalties requires reasonable steps to ensure compliance requirements are met as set out under the contract.”

We are currently assisting organisations to identify their potential exposure, helping put together new compliant right to work policies and training those involved on what to do.

Please contact James or one of our other experienced immigration practitioners if you would like to further discuss your potential exposure to the new extension of right to work liability and simple steps to mitigate that risk.