Right to Work rules change for employers

Employers are operating under an updated Home Office Right to Work code from 1 October, setting out the prescribed checks used to establish protection against civil penalties where illegal working is later identified.

The revised code came into force on 1 October after being laid before Parliament in draft earlier this year. The Home Office removed the draft designation from its published guidance on the same date.

Employers have a legal responsibility to establish that people they employ have permission to perform the work in question. Carrying out the prescribed checks correctly can create a statutory excuse against a civil penalty if an individual is later found not to have the required immigration status.

The protection does not apply where an employer knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that someone is working illegally.

Checks vary according to the worker’s nationality, immigration status, and documentation. Employers may use the Home Office online service, approved identity-service providers for eligible British and Irish citizens, or manual document checks where those remain permitted.

Digital processes now account for a large share of checks involving people with immigration permission. Many workers provide an employer with a share code and date of birth, allowing the organisation to retrieve the relevant status directly from Home Office systems.

The technology reduces dependence on physical immigration documents but does not remove the employer’s responsibility to establish that the record relates to the person being hired and that the permission covers the proposed work.

Evidence also has to be retained in the prescribed form. Where permission is time limited, employers may need to complete further checks before it expires.

Those requirements create particular operational risks in businesses with high recruitment volumes or decentralised hiring. Multiple sites, seasonal workforces, agency arrangements, and managers recruiting outside a central HR function can all increase the chance of checks being performed inconsistently.

Using a recruitment agency or screening provider does not automatically remove the employer’s legal responsibilities. Organisations need clear processes defining who performs each check, where evidence is stored, and how follow-up dates are monitored.

The consequences of non-compliance extend beyond an individual civil penalty. Illegal-working breaches can create disruption where workers have to be removed from roles and can have implications for organisations holding sponsor licences.

The revised code also sits alongside a separate code addressing unlawful discrimination while employers conduct Right to Work checks. Recruitment processes need to apply verification requirements consistently rather than treating candidates differently because of nationality or appearance.

For organisations already following the prescribed digital and manual routes, the October change is unlikely to require wholesale process redesign. The larger risk is that previous versions of guidance remain embedded in onboarding manuals, local procedures, or outsourced screening arrangements.

HR systems and manager guidance should therefore reflect the code currently in force, including the correct methods for documenting and retaining evidence.

A compliant policy alone does not establish the statutory excuse if checks are missed or completed incorrectly in practice. The updated code places the emphasis on execution across every hiring route through which an employee joins the organisation.