Right to work checks from 1 October 2026: the methods, who is covered and what to keep
What the employer’s guide says changed on 1 October 2026, which checking methods count, and how long to keep your records.
Published 22 October 2026 · 4 min read
Checked against official guidance on 22 October 2026. This post reflects GOV.UK: Employer’s guide to right to work checks (in force from 1 October 2026). Guidance changes, so check the linked pages for the current version. This is information, not legal advice.
What changed on 1 October 2026
The employer’s guide says the Right to Work Scheme now covers more than direct employment. It applies to people engaged under a worker’s contract, as individual sub-contractors, or through online matching services. Under those categories, civil penalties apply only where the engagement began on or after 1 October 2026.
Examples in the guide: agency workers supplied under a worker’s contract are generally in scope, with the agency as the responsible party, and gig or platform workers are generally in scope if they are not running an independent business. Self-employed contractors trading as independent businesses, and personal service companies contracting directly with clients, are out of scope. Read the guide for your own arrangements, because the boundaries matter.
Three checking methods
The guide describes three methods that can give you a statutory excuse: a manual document check, a Home Office online check, or a check through a registered right to work digital verification service provider. People with an eVisa must prove their right to work through the Home Office online service.
- Manual document check: check the original documents in the person’s presence. Cancelled documents, such as a passport with a clipped corner, are not acceptable.
- Home Office online check: the person gives you a share code. The guide says share codes starting with “R” or “S” are not accepted.
- Digital verification service provider: a registered provider checks the document and the person for you.
Things that do not count
A few cases need verification from the Home Office Employer Checking Service instead of a document or online check, such as certain Application Registration Cards and Crown Dependency permissions. If you ask for that check, keep the Positive Verification Notice you receive.
- Screenshots, scans and live video views of documents, apart from official digital evidence of a name and National Insurance number.
- An expired Biometric Residence Permit. The guide says these stopped being issued on 31 October 2024.
What to keep
Keep copies of the documents or check outputs for the length of the person’s employment and for two years afterwards, then destroy them securely. Keep a dated record of when the check was made: the guide says writing a date on a copy alone is not sufficient. Where facial recognition is used, keep the comparison alongside the document copy.
Why it matters
The sponsor guidance says employing a worker without the right to work can lead to a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker, and that this usually leads to revocation of a sponsor licence. Section 5 of the employer’s guide sets out the sanctions in full, including how penalties are calculated, so read it before you rely on any figure.
How Zetta HR helps
Zetta HR records each check with its method, the date you did it, the outcome and a follow-up date, and lets you attach the evidence. It reminds you before a time-limited right to work ends. It does not carry out the check for you: you still do that, then record what you found.
Sources
More guides
A Home Office compliance visit: what to expect and what to have ready
What officers may do, who they may speak to, and which records they may ask to see, from the sponsor guidance.
Sponsor licence sanctions explained: downgrade, suspension and revocation
The range of actions the Home Office can take against a sponsor, in plain English.