Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Right to work checks extended beyond employees: UK employers’ obligations for contractors, subcontractors and gig/platform workers under BSAIA 2025 s 48, and practical impacts across construction, retail and logistics

Published on: 06 March 2026

Published by a LexisNexis Immigration expert

Legal News

Article summary

How will the right to work regime be extended?

Under the present right to work regime, employers are obliged to carry out checks on every employee to avoid civil penalties where someone is discovered to be working unlawfully. These penalties can reach £45,000 for a first breach, rising to £60,000 for subsequent breaches. If an employer knows, or has reasonable grounds to suspect, they are employing an illegal worker, further criminal exposure may arise, potentially extending to officers and directors. For sponsor licence holders, the Home Office expects right to work checks to be completed for all workers, contractors and self-employed individuals as part of meeting sponsor obligations. BSAIA 2025, s 48 broadens this obligation so it applies to every employer, whether or not they hold a sponsor licence, and it encompasses:

workers who are not employees
self-employed contractors
people engaged through a fee-charging online job-matching platform linking service providers with clients and customers

The distinction between employees, workers and self-employed contractors...

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