Right to Work Changes from 1 October 2026: Why Employers Need to Act Now

The UK's updated Right to Work framework represents one of the most significant developments in illegal working compliance for many years. The changes are designed to ensure that illegal working can be identified across a much broader range of working arrangements and engagement models, reflecting the reality of today's employment market.

Why Employers Should Pay Attention

Employers should view this as part of a wider government initiative focused on increasing compliance, strengthening enforcement and closing perceived gaps in existing Right to Work processes.

Businesses should not assume that enforcement activity will only affect organisations with obvious compliance concerns. There has been an increase in illegal working notices and compliance enquiries, not just among UK sponsor licence holders. In many cases, this appears to be driven by greater information sharing and connectivity between government departments, enabling authorities to identify potential illegal working more quickly and thoroughly.

With intelligence-led enforcement on the rise, employers should be prepared for increased scrutiny of their workforce compliance practices.

The draft Code of Practice signals a significant shift in the approach to Right to Work compliance. Employers are now expected to look beyond traditional direct employment relationships and consider a wider range of workforce arrangements. Although this expectation has existed in principle since the introduction of the Civil Penalty Scheme in 2008, the new guidance reinforces that organisations may be held accountable for compliance across their extended workforce.

What Does This Mean in Practice?

The changes place greater emphasis on identity, requiring organisations to understand who is working for them and to implement robust digital verification measures to confirm that the individual performing the work is the same person whose Right to Work has been checked.

Specific references are made to contractual protections, substitution controls and identity verification systems as key elements of demonstrating valid Right to Work check compliance. The draft code also permits employers to outsource impersonation checks to approved digital verification providers using facial recognition technology, such as WorkRight.

For HR teams, this means Right to Work compliance is evolving from a pre-employment document check into a broader workforce governance exercise. UK sponsor licence holders will be more familiar with the need to facilitate ongoing document retention and verification procedures, but with increased focus on different employer–employee relationships, internal accountability will become more important to all UK employers.

Challenges for Different Types of Employers

The Small Business Challenge

A common misconception is that these changes will primarily affect large businesses. In reality, business size is no longer the key differentiator; what matters is how effectively a business can protect itself from liability.

Take a UK start-up media agency with 30 employees. Historically, recruitment may have been managed by the office manager alongside their day-to-day responsibilities. The new code continues to require employers to complete the usual Right to Work processes and maintain accurate records. However, it is now strongly reinforced that any outsourced labour arrangements are appropriately managed within contractual terms and that the ownership of liability is easily identifiable.

For many SMEs, the risk is inconsistent processes, reliance on manual records or assumptions that responsibility sits elsewhere in the business or with someone else.

The Global Corporate Challenge

For global employers, the focus is no longer simply on having a policy in place, but on being able to demonstrate that it is applied consistently across the workforce.

A multinational organisation may have excellent UK HR procedures but engage hundreds of contractors, consultants or contingent workers through multiple suppliers. The complexity of those arrangements can make it difficult to maintain oversight and consistency.

The new framework reinforces the need for organisations to understand exactly who is performing work within their business, how that work is being supplied and what controls exist to verify identity and Right to Work status. As governments continue to digitise immigration and identity systems, expectations around workforce visibility and auditability are also increasing.

What Employers Should Do Before October 2026

The organisations best placed to navigate these changes will be those that act before October rather than take a wait-and-see approach.

Fragomen is already working with many clients to review their Right to Work policies, recruitment processes, contractor arrangements, evidence retention procedures and training programmes. Many businesses are also assessing whether their current technology, identity verification processes and monitoring controls remain fit for purpose under the new framework.

Employers are encouraged to utilise approved digital verification providers that combine identity assurance and facial recognition technology, and solutions such as WorkRight can help organisations strengthen verification and maintain robust audit trails. Businesses that are unsure where to start can take WorkRight’s quick quiz to see assess their readiness for the changes coming into effect in October.

Right to Work compliance extends well beyond checking a document at the point of hire, and organisations are increasingly expected to demonstrate that they have effective controls in place to identify and prevent illegal working across all forms of work engagement.

As enforcement activity continues to increase and government agencies become more connected in their approach, employers that take a proactive approach now will be in a far stronger position to defend their compliance processes, protect their statutory excuse and minimise regulatory risk in the years ahead.

Need to Know More?

For guidance on preparing for the October 2026 Right to Work changes, including workforce compliance and identity verification considerations, please contact Partner Naomi Goldshtein at [email protected]

This blog was published on 10 September 2026  and reflects information available at that time. Updates may occur as policies evolve. To stay informed on the latest immigration news and analysis, please subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.