UK Right to Work Checks: Employer Guide (2026/27)

UK employers must check a person's right to work before the person starts work, using one of the methods prescribed by the Home Office. The check is not only for people who look or sound foreign, and it is not the same as a sponsor-licence check. From 1 October 2026, the Home Office's updated guidance includes additional working arrangements and screening for potential extended liability. This guide reflects the employer instructions and accessible checklist updated on that date.

A compliant check may establish a statutory excuse against a civil penalty if the person is later found to be working illegally. It does not create immigration permission, guarantee that every duty has been met, or permit work outside the conditions shown in a person's status. Follow the live Home Office guidance for the worker and arrangement concerned.

Who must be checked under the October 2026 rules?

The Home Office checklist says the prescribed check must be completed before work starts for a person employed under a contract of employment, engaged under a worker's contract, or engaged as an individual subcontractor. It also describes checks for some online matching services that connect individual service providers with clients. The updated guidance includes extended liability screening for certain contractual arrangements where a business obtains work or services from an individual through another employer or provider.

Do not assume that calling someone a contractor, consultant, gig worker or agency worker removes the issue. Equally, the checklist does not say that every supplier arrangement automatically makes the customer responsible for a check. The contract, personal-service arrangement, substitution rights and actual way the work is supplied matter. Use the Home Office screening questions and full employer guidance to determine whether extended liability applies; seek specialist advice for a complex chain.

The employer must not make applicants prove their right to work through one chosen method or treat them unfavourably because of the method available to them. Give each person a reasonable opportunity to use a prescribed method and apply the same check process consistently. The October 2026 statutory code covers employers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and applies to employment starting from 1 October 2026, as well as qualifying repeat checks on or after that date.

Choose one of the three prescribed check methods

The current accessible checklist describes three ways to complete the check:

Use the route that is available for that person's evidence. Do not treat the Home Office immigration-status service, a visa vignette, an old biometric card, a share-code message, or a screenshot as interchangeable with the prescribed right-to-work check. The online service output must confirm the person's permission for the offered work and any conditions that apply.

Manual document check

For a manual check, use the current acceptable-document lists in the employer checklist. The document combination depends on the person's status: List A establishes a continuous statutory excuse in the listed cases, while List B documents establish a time-limited excuse and may require a follow-up check. The lists are detailed and change, so do not build a local shortcut from a few familiar passport examples.

Obtain the original documents the checklist allows and check them in the person's presence, either face to face or by live video link. For a video check, the employer must have the original documents in hand. Confirm that the documents are genuine, relate to the person presenting them, and show permission for the role. Compare the photograph, name, dates and other details, and resolve a discrepancy before allowing the person to start.

The manual method does not allow an employer to rely on an ordinary scan, screenshot or photocopy instead of the required original-document process. Digital evidence of a person's name and National Insurance number may be accepted in the narrow circumstance described in the checklist; do not ask for the person's password or access to their personal device. Follow the checklist's specific treatment for certificates and supporting records.

Make a clear copy of the required pages or documents and record the date the check was conducted. The checklist says the date must be stated on the copy in the prescribed way or kept in a separate manual or digital record; merely writing an unexplained date on the copied document is not enough. Keep the documents securely for the duration of employment and two years afterwards, then securely destroy them, subject to other applicable record-keeping requirements.

Home Office online check

Where a person has an eVisa, the employer must use the Home Office online right-to-work checking service to establish the statutory excuse. Ask the person to generate and provide a right-to-work share code. The employer enters that code and the person's date of birth into the Home Office check service. A code used for a different purpose, such as proving a right to rent, is not the right check for employment. See the separate UK Right to Rent guide for the landlord process in England.

Open the result while the worker is present in person or by video call, or use the face-comparison route through a registered DVSP where permitted. Check that the photograph is of the person, the result confirms a right to work, and the permission covers the proposed role and any hours, occupation or other conditions. If a condition is not clear or the online result does not support the proposed work, pause and use the Home Office instructions or Employer Checking Service where the case qualifies.

Download or save a clear PDF or HTML copy of the profile result, including the photograph and check date. Keep it securely for the duration of the employment and two years afterwards, then securely destroy it. Do not rely on a saved share code alone: the employer must view the live result and retain the required evidence of what the service confirmed.

Optional digital verification through an approved provider

An employer may choose a Right to Work digital verification service provider (RtW DVSP) for the digital identity part of a check; using a provider is not compulsory. The provider must be registered with the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) for right-to-work checks. The Home Office says providers can check eligible British or Irish passports, including Irish passport cards, and other acceptable documents where those are available digitally.

Obtain and inspect the provider's output. Confirm it contains the required personal and document details, identifies the registered provider, confirms that it followed the applicable code and provides the required link to its register entry. The employer still has to satisfy itself that the photograph and biographical details belong to the person doing the work. A provider's identity check does not remove the employer's responsibility to follow the prescribed process or verify work permission where the method requires it.

Retain the provider output securely for the duration of employment and two years afterwards, then destroy it securely. If facial recognition was used, retain the comparison evidence required by the checklist alongside the service output. Check the live OfDIA register rather than selecting a provider from an old procurement list.

Repeat checks and permission limits

If the check establishes a continuous statutory excuse under List A, no follow-up check is required under the right-to-work scheme. If a person has time-limited permission or a List B document, set a reminder and complete the prescribed follow-up check before the permission or excuse expires. Use the current online service, a permitted repeat manual check or Employer Checking Service process that applies to the case. A pending application or appeal may have a specific verification route; do not assume that a receipt or application reference is sufficient.

At a follow-up, confirm the person continues to have permission for the work they are doing. If the check does not confirm permission, follow the Home Office instructions and take appropriate steps. Do not allow someone to work outside a restriction just because they passed an earlier check or because a new application has been submitted. Keep the repeat-check evidence and date alongside the original record, with access limited to people who need it.

Screen for extended liability in work-supply arrangements

From 1 October 2026, the checklist includes screening questions about whether the business engages people directly, uses individual subcontractors, receives services from individuals supplied through another employer or provider, operates a matching service, or permits substitution. These questions help identify whether extended liability rules may apply. They are not a conclusion that liability automatically applies whenever a business buys services from a supplier.

Where the rules require a written statement or additional systems before work starts, make sure the terms are in place before the relevant work begins and that they operate in practice. Where substitution is allowed, the checklist requires controls so that a substitute is checked before starting and the person doing the work is the same person whose right to work was checked. If relying on another party's systems, take reasonable steps to confirm those systems are effective and retain evidence of your oversight.

The extended-liability questions can require contract and supply-chain analysis. If the arrangement involves several agencies, a platform, a substitution clause, or a service supplied by an individual through a business, use the employer guide's detailed screening and statutory-code material. Do not determine the outcome from a supplier label or contract heading alone.

Apply checks consistently and avoid discrimination

Carry out the required check for everyone in scope, not only people who appear to be non-British or Irish. Do not make different checks because of a person's name, accent, skin colour, nationality, place of birth or the type of identity document they use. The October 2026 code of practice explains how to prevent unlawful discrimination while meeting the duty to prevent illegal working; agencies and service providers can have additional obligations.

Offer the same reasonable choice of permitted check methods and give the person a fair chance to provide the evidence. Do not reject an application simply because an individual uses an eVisa or a digital route rather than a British passport. Apply document and identity checks consistently, make reasonable adjustments where needed, and keep the decision process separate from assumptions about immigration status. If a mismatch, missing document or service problem arises, use the route-specific Home Office process rather than improvising a higher evidence burden for one applicant.

Penalties and the limits of a statutory excuse

GOV.UK states that an employer can face a civil penalty of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker if it employs someone without permission and did not carry out the correct checks. A person who knowingly employs an illegal worker, or has reasonable cause to believe the person lacks permission for the work, may face criminal prosecution, imprisonment and an unlimited fine. The penalty and statutory-excuse rules depend on the facts and whether the prescribed check was correctly completed and retained.

A statutory excuse is not a general declaration that the worker's status is valid forever. It depends on completing the correct check before work begins, verifying the person's identity and permission for the actual work, keeping evidence and following up a time-limited right. The employer must also avoid discrimination while conducting these checks. For sponsor-licence reporting, CoS accuracy, sponsored-worker records and Home Office sponsor audits, read the separate UK sponsor licence duties and compliance guide.

A repeatable hiring workflow

Create one record for each person and arrangement in scope. Note the start date, check type, identity comparison, permission and work restrictions, evidence location, check date and any follow-up date. For a supplied worker or substitute, record who owns the check and how your organisation verifies that the person arriving is the person checked. Assign the process to trained staff and review a sample periodically, especially after policy changes.

If the Home Office changes a method, a provider's registration or a document list, update the procedure and re-train the staff who conduct checks. Keep the current employer guide and checklist as the source of truth. This page gives a process map, not a complete substitute for the official lists, contractual screening questions or case-specific checks.

Official sources

• Home Office: Right to work checks, employer's guide — the full employer guide, updated 1 October 2026.
• Home Office: Employers' right to work checklist, accessible version — scope, check methods, document steps and evidence retention.
• Home Office: October 2026 code of practice on avoiding discrimination — consistent, non-discriminatory right-to-work checks across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
• GOV.UK: check a job applicant's right to work — online check using a worker's share code.
• GOV.UK: penalties for employing illegal workers — civil penalty and criminal offence overview.
• Home Office: find registered digital verification services — check the current register of government-registered providers and services.
• GOV.UK: Employer Checking Service — check cases where the online process cannot establish status and the service is available.

This guide is general employer information and does not confirm a person's immigration status or determine whether a particular contract creates extended liability. Use the current Home Office guidance for the actual arrangement and evidence.