From October 1, 2026, the UK is rolling out an expanded right to work check regime that for the first time covers the self-employed, contractors, delivery platform workers, agency staff, and British citizens.
In short
- From October 1, 2026, self-employed people, contractors, and platform workers like Uber Eats and Deliveroo riders come under right to work checks for the first time.
- The fine for one worker without the right to work is £45,000, rising to up to £60,000 on a repeat breach.
- Pointing to an agency or contractor status no longer removes the employer’s responsibility for the check.
- Even employees who’ve been with a company for 10-20 years must be checked again — pre-settled status requires its own expiry tracking.
- British citizens don’t need a passport for the check: a birth certificate plus a document with the national insurance number will do.
What Changes From October 1, 2026
From October 1, 2026, an expanded right to work check regime takes effect in the UK, and the Home Office gains grounds to oversee far more than just employees on payroll. Before this date, checks applied to people employed under a contract who received a payslip weekly or monthly. Working without authorisation was already prohibited, but from October 1 the programme reaches a substantially wider circle of labour market participants.
Alongside the expanded checks, illegal working at warehouses and other sites will be classed as a serious criminal offence rather than an administrative breach. This shifts the underlying logic of enforcement: previously the focus was mostly on the “employer — payroll employee” relationship, but now forms of engagement that had stayed outside Home Office oversight fall under scrutiny too.
Who the New Checks Cover: Self-Employed, Contractors, Platforms
Checks on payroll employees — people who get a payslip weekly or monthly — surprise no one: right to work checks in the UK have been in place since Brexit, and that rule already applies to all Europeans. What’s new from October 1, 2026, is different: three categories that used to be responsible for their own status come under oversight for the first time.
The first is the self-employed running their own business (sole traders). The second is contractors, primarily in construction: subcontractors that a large construction firm engages through a chain of smaller contracts. The third is workers on intermediary platforms such as Just Eat, Deliveroo, and Uber Eats.
Before this date, such platforms acted only as intermediaries: they allowed a person to accept an order, while registering a business, sorting out status, and paying tax was the worker’s own responsibility. Now that responsibility shifts to the party commissioning the work — the platform itself, or the company that passes the contract down the chain.
For payroll staff, this is a formality — an extension of long-standing practice. But for the self-employed and for people working through Uber or Just Eat, it’s effectively a revolution: some of them risk losing the ability to work simply because their status used to be nobody’s concern but their own.
For payroll staff, this is a formality — an extension of long-standing practice. But for the self-employed and for people working through Uber or Just Eat, it’s effectively a revolution
Who Was Responsible for Status Before and After October 1, 2026
Responsibility for the right to work check shifts from the worker to the party commissioning the work.
- Self-employed and contractors
- Platform workers (Uber, Deliveroo, Just Eat)
From October 1, 2026, self-employed people, contractors, and platform workers like Uber Eats and Deliveroo riders come under checks for the first time — until now, their status was nobody’s concern but their own.
Employer Liability for Contractors and Agency Workers
The check isn’t limited to staff on a payroll contract — it also extends to workers supplied by an agency. Previously an employer could argue they weren’t aware of a particular person’s status because that person came through an agency, and it was the agency’s job to check documents. That defence no longer holds: if someone worked illegally on a company’s premises, the employer is liable — regardless of whether they hired that person directly, brought them in through an agency, or engaged them as a contractor.
The same applies to self-employed people engaged as contractors. Until now, many sidestepped the lack of status this way: they issued an invoice, got paid, and the company never checked whether the self-employed person’s business was registered or whether they had the right to work. From October 1, 2026, this arrangement no longer removes liability from the business on whose premises the work was carried out.
If someone worked illegally on a company’s premises, the company itself is liable — even if that person was supplied by an agency or worked as a contractor.
Employer Fines: From £45,000 to £450,000
For a single worker without documents proving the right to work, the fine under current rules is £45,000. On a repeat breach, the amount rises to £60,000 for the same worker. It’s not the worker who pays — it’s the first party in the chain, the business or contracting owner who hired them.
| Situation | Fine |
|---|---|
| First breach, one worker without documents | £45,000 |
| Repeat breach for the same worker | up to £60,000 |
| Mass audit: 10 out of 100 staff without completed verification | £450,000 |
The £450,000 fine, based on available information, is not tied to illegal employment itself but to the employer’s failure to check the status of part of the workforce — in the example cited, 10 workers out of 100. The exact mechanics of applying this sum are set out in secondary legislation. A fine of this size can be enough to push a company into bankruptcy.
The same rates — £45,000 for a first breach and up to £60,000 on repetition — also apply to employment platforms, if another person without the right to work is actually doing the job through one worker’s account.
Checking British Citizens: A Passport Isn’t Required
The new rules apply to British citizens too — the employer must check them the same way as foreign workers. The difference is in how status is confirmed: a British citizen doesn’t need a Share Code and doesn’t need to prove immigration status — citizenship itself confers the right to work.
This doesn’t exempt the employer from the process: document checks must go through official systems, not an informal arrangement with a manager. A photo of a passport sent over WhatsApp no longer counts as verification — a British citizen’s passport also has to be checked through the established channel.
A photo of a passport sent over WhatsApp no longer counts as verification
A separate complication is that not everyone has a passport: roughly half of British citizens don’t have one. Not having a passport doesn’t remove the employer’s duty to check — a birth certificate can be used instead. It’s paired with a second document showing the national insurance number — for example, a letter from the DWP or from HMRC.
If a British employee has no passport (and not everyone does), use a birth certificate together with a document showing the national insurance number.
Repeat Checks: Why a Previously Confirmed Status Doesn’t Exempt Anyone
A right to work confirmed in the past is no guarantee against a new check: the employer must arrange one for every employee again, regardless of whether the person has been with the company for 10, 15, 20 years or started six months ago. Settled status, and the fact that documents were already checked at hiring, don’t take someone out of this process.
A typical situation: an employee who started six months ago and already went through a check at hiring gets a letter from the employer asking them to fill in documents again, send a copy of their passport, and generate a Share Code. The reason isn’t an HR mistake — it’s a new standard procedure that every responsible employer now applies.
There are two grounds for a repeat check: an error made during the initial paperwork, and pre-settled status — a temporary status with a set expiry date that must be renewed into settled status. While the status is temporary, the employer needs to confirm its validity hasn’t lapsed: otherwise the company faces a fine of £45,000 to £60,000 per worker on repeat breach.
On top of that, the employer must confirm that the person who turns up on day one is genuinely the same person registered in the system — including checks at the door carried out by security staff.
While the status is temporary, the employer must keep track that it hasn’t expired — otherwise a fine of up to £60,000 per worker applies.
A Typical Case: Working for Years Without Status and Not Knowing It
In practice, there are cases where a person believes for years that they have status, when in fact the Home Office never confirmed it. The usual cause is an error by whoever helped file the application at the time, especially if the applicant themselves wasn’t confident navigating the app-based process and passport scanning.
One scenario: the helper scanned the passport and photo but never pressed the final submit button — the application was left unfiled, even though the person believed the process was complete. Another, worse scenario: the application really was submitted, but the helper listed their own email for correspondence with the Home Office and never passed on the letters that arrived.
That’s exactly what happened to one applicant who was confident that, having lived in the UK since 2004, status was owed to them automatically. Their application was filed and submitted, but the Home Office requested documents proving continuous residence in the country. The request letter went to the helper’s email, and the applicant themselves never knew about it. The documents weren’t provided in time — and the application was refused. The person worked for several years believing they were in the country legally, when status had never actually been granted.
The person worked for several years believing they were in the country legally, when status had never actually been granted
In a situation like this, the only path is to reapply, now late, and push for the Home Office to accept the application for consideration. If someone else once handled the application on your behalf, it’s worth checking your current status yourself — especially if no confirmation has come from the Home Office since.
Frequently asked questions
From what date do the expanded right to work checks start applying
The expanded right to work check regime in the UK takes effect from October 1, 2026. From that date, the Home Office has grounds to check not only payroll employees but also the self-employed, contractors, and workers on intermediary platforms.
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