At a glance
- UK businesses will soon have to conduct right to work checks on all workers, including gig economy and zero-hours workers.
- Businesses hiring illegal workers face civil penalties and potential reputational damage from being publicly named.
- The Home Office has intensified its crackdown on illegal working, with a significant rise in premises visits, arrests, and civil penalty notices.
- Employers must check the right to work status of all prospective employees, retaining records to avoid penalties.
On 30 March 2025, the UK Home Office announced that businesses will soon be legally required to carry out right to work checks on everyone working in their name. This change will bring gig economy and zero-hours workers in line with other employees, with civil penalties being imposed on businesses that hire illegal self-employed contractors and other non-employer workers.
The announcement is in line with the UK Home Office’s broader clamp down on illegal working and increased focus on enforcement action. In January 2025, 828 premises were visited, a 48% rise compared to January 2024. The number of arrests made has also surged and is up by 73% over the previous year with 1,508 civil penalty notices issued since July 2024.
This recent announcement, targeting sectors such as construction, food delivery, beauty salons and courier services, may therefore come as no surprise. Although logical in principle, extending the illegal working regime will pose challenges for businesses and employers should ready themselves for this shift in approach.
Current right to work obligations
Employers in the UK are required to carry out right to work checks on all prospective employees before they start employment. Provided the checks are carried out in accordance with the UK Home Office guidance and code of practice, and records of the checks retained, employers will hold a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty if it later transpires that the employee is actually an illegal worker.
Without the above statutory excuse, employers face a menu of sanctions, including civil penalties of up to GBP60,000 per illegal worker, an inability to sponsor migrants, director disqualifications and criminal convictions in the most serious cases. In addition to the civil penalty, the Home Office publish a quarterly list naming each employer or business that has received a penalty, and the amount imposed. This ‘name and shame’ approach can result in significant reputational damage.
The above regime currently applies only to individuals employed under a contract of employment, service or apprenticeship. Those who are genuinely self-employed or contractors are not subject to these requirements.
Next steps
The implementation date, together with the full scope of this change, remains unconfirmed.
Once implemented, the risks of employing illegal workers will be significantly extended and will bring gig economy businesses within the scope of the illegal working civil penalty regime.
Whilst many businesses may already carry out right to work checks across their workforce by way of good practice, this is likely to pose a significant change for many others. The announcement should also serve as a reminder of the importance to ensure right to work checks are thoroughly understood and being carried out correctly.
On 1 April 2025, the Home Office published a report with findings from research on employer awareness and compliance with right to work checks. The report highlights some common knowledge gaps around right to work requirements. In particular:
- 62% incorrectly stated that recruitment agencies had responsibility for carry out right to work checks.
- 62% incorrectly stated that a UK driving licence can be accepted to conduct a manual right to work check.
- 64% incorrectly stated that employers were required to recheck employee documents every five years.
We would recommend that employers proactively carry out a spring clean of their existing right to work policies and guidelines to ensure these are compliant and fit for purpose ahead of this change. Managers and Human Resources should also be made aware of these changes for onboarding purposes, with appropriate training provided to address any knowledge gaps.
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