A new consultation document published by the Home Office indicates an intention to roll out expanded right to work check processes from 1 October 2026. If you are responsible for right to work compliance at your business, you may need to put resources in place over the summer to be able to operationalise expanded checking processes from this date.  You should also ensure you understand the proposed revised obligations to avoid unlawful discrimination while preventing illegal working.

Why could right to work checks change from 1 October 2026?

On 15 April 2026 the Home Office opened a consultation asking for stakeholder views on the wording of a draft code of practice for employers on avoiding unlawful discrimination while preventing illegal working.

The draft is stated to apply to all employment commencing on or after 1 October 2026, as well as to repeat checks on an existing worker, where this must be carried out on or after 1 October 2026 to retain a statutory excuse.

Although the effective date of the new code of practice may be subject to revision, the publication of the draft code is the strongest confirmation published to-date suggesting that the Home Office intends to implement the expanded illegal working regime and associated amendments to right to work check processes from 1 October 2026. 

What are the key takeaways for businesses right now?

If you are responsible for right to work compliance at your business, we would suggest you take the following actions now:

• Review the details of the expanded illegal working regime and prepare a preliminary strategy for complying with revised right to work checks, including:
  • Identifying which work relationships will be brought in scope;
  • Flagging which contractual arrangements should be reviewed with regards to warranties and indemnities in relation to illegal working;
  • Estimating how many additional checks may need to be carried out per year and the likely operational impacts of this;
  • Considering whether to engage a Digital Verification Service (DVS) provider, or reviewing arrangements with an existing provider;
  • Considering whether to carry out a mock audit of existing right to work compliance ahead of the expanded regime coming into effect
• Understand your business's obligations to avoid discrimination while preventing illegal working, including the revisions proposed in the draft code of practice (see further details below);
• Monitor for further developments, including the publication of a revised Employer's guide to right to work checks (you can sign up to receive our updates here);
• Consider whether and how your business is impacted by a recent sponsor guidance update relating to right to work check duties; and
• Ensure you have adequate resources in place to make the necessary changes to your right to work policies and processes ahead of 1 October 2026 – this may include planning to have adequate coverage over the summer period.

What changes are in the new code of practice?

Many of the changes align with the expanded scope of the illegal working regime and the kinds of working relationships encompassed by it. For further information on these, see our earlier article here.

Some notable changes include the following:

• Expanded definition of 'employer' to mean a person who employs an individual:
  • Under a contract of employment (a contract of service or apprenticeship);
  • Under a worker's contract;
  • As an individual sub-contractor; or
  • As an online matching service providing the details of an individual who is a service provider to potential clients or customers;
• New definitions of:
  • 'Worker', meaning an individual employed by an employer in any of the working arrangements within the scope of the 'employer' definition; and
  • 'Right to work' meaning being allowed to be engaged in work by virtue of holding a qualifying immigration status;
  • 'Right to work checks' meaning prescribed manual document checks, prescribed Home Office online right to work checks and prescribed use of a DVS for these checks;
• Revised definitions of:
  • 'eVisa' – this changes from being 'a digital visa provided by the Home Office as evidence of a person's immigration status (permission to enter or stay in the UK' to being 'an online record provided by the Home Office of a person's immigration status and the conditions of their permission to enter or stay in the UK';
  • 'Permission to stay' – this changes from meaning that 'a person has permission from the Home Office to be in the UK' to 'permission from the Home Office to remain in the UK for a specified period';
• A new obligation for employers using a DVS as part of their recruitment and onboarding processes (and the DVS providers themselves) to have systems in place to ensure this doesn't introduce or perpetuate discriminatory outcomes;
• A statement flagging that a worker's inability to use the Home Office's online right to work check service may be due to a technical issue beyond the worker's control which results in the production of an incorrect share code, online right to work check result or temporary inability to generate a share code;
• A statement that it is reasonable for employers to have an equality policy in place and to ensure it's put into practice;
• A clarification that employers must treat all applicants fairly at each stage of the recruitment process, and when carrying out right to work checks;
• A clarification that employers must not mandate digital checks (in addition to not being allowed to mandate online checks, except for workers who have an eVisa);
• A statement that employers can't refuse to use the Employer Checking Service for people who don't have or are unable to access the Home Office online checking service;
• A revised direct discrimination example from 'carrying out right to work checks for a Black employee but not for his White colleague' to 'carrying out right to work checks for a foreign national worker but not for their UK-born colleague';
• A statement that employers may encourage the use of DVS technology (in addition to mentioning that use of the online checking service may be encouraged); and
• A statement that employers should try to keep the job open to provide 'all workers with reasonable opportunity' to demonstrate their right to work – this is amended from affording 'an individual with the opportunity'.

How can you respond to the consultation?

Comments on the draft code of practice must be emailed to righttorentandrighttowork@homeoffice.gov.uk no later than 23:59 BST on 29 April 2026.

Need more help?

We'll be covering the expanded illegal working regime, along with other recent and upcoming immigration changes in our online Immigration Law Academy on 6 & 7 May. Click here for further details and to sign up. 

If you need assistance with your business's right to work processes and compliance, including training, written guidance (including step-by-step checklists) or a mock right to work audit, please get in touch with a member of our Immigration Team.