On 30 March 2025, the Home Office announced their plan to extend right to work checks to people in the gig economy and those on zero-hour contracts. In this article, we provide an overview of the Home Office’s proposed plan, including what this means for businesses and the punishments for failing to follow the right to work protocol.
These new rules are not yet in force. If you are an employer and would like some general guidance regarding the current rules on right to work checks, this can be accessed here. The Home Office’s full guide to right to work checks remains the most comprehensive tool and can be accessed here.
Who is this article relevant to?
This article is relevant to all businesses and those who have recruitment responsibilities within their organisation. It becomes even more relevant where an organisation typically hires individuals in non-traditional employment arrangements.
The Home Office released a research report on 1 April 2025, where they found that smaller employers who hire agency or zero-hour contract workers are potentially at a greater risk of non-compliance with the right to work protocol. These types of arrangements are commonly seen in sectors such as food delivery, construction, care, beauty and courier services, as well as companies which rely on labour in high-turnover or seasonal industries.
The Home Office’s plan
Under the current prevention of illegal working regime employers must carry out right to work checks on all prospective or existing employees and workers, in accordance with Home Office guidance. Undertaking these checks enables employers to use the right to work check as a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty if they are found to have employed an illegal worker (someone who does not have the right to work in the UK). Licensed sponsors are arguably held to an even higher standard when it comes to right to work checks and are expected to have robust systems in place to ensure all employees and workers have a right to work in the UK, not just those they sponsor.
Historically, it has very much been the responsibility of self-employed individuals to ensure they have a right to work in the UK and it has not been something that the business using their services has been required to verify.
The Home Office’s current guidance makes it clear that businesses are not currently required to conduct a right to work check on those who are not direct employees, but they are strongly encouraged to do so for many reasons.
Following some confusion over what was expected of sponsors, the guidance was updated in February this year to clarify that sponsors are required to do checks on self-employed individuals that they sponsor, i.e. not self-employed individuals as a whole.
This is all set to change under the proposals and the Home Office has now announced their plan to extend right to work checks to contractors and those on zero-hour contracts.
If this plan is adopted, businesses will be required to confirm that contractors and those on zero-hour contacts have the legal right to work in the UK. This means that they would have to carry out right to work checks for these individuals in the same way as they do for those employees with standard contracts. This obligation on businesses will apply regardless of the type of contract or working arrangement in place and will extend to businesses which use third-party platforms or sub-contracting arrangements.
This will undoubtedly increase the administrative burden on businesses.
It is unclear exactly when this change will come into force, but the plans form part of the proposed amendments to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill that is currently being considered in Parliament. A full consultation of the plan with businesses on implementing the checks would then follow.
It is also unclear how far this obligation will extend. For example, will businesses be required to do retrospective checks? What about checks on those who are not gig economy workers or on zero hours contracts or will the requirements be wider? How will a gig economy worker be defined? This last question is rife with issue as the question of employment and tax status for gig economy workers continues to be debated in the courts. Adding right to work checks to the mix will no doubt lead to further confusion and legal debate.
Penalties for non-compliance
To be ready for the implementation of these plans, businesses would be well advised to start carrying out right to work checks on gig economy workers and those on zero-hour contracts in accordance with Home Office current guidance on right to work checks as well as for prospective and existing employees. If they do this and the worker is later found to be an illegal worker, the employer will likely have a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty. Such businesses may also be better placed to hit the ground running once the new rules are in place.
Businesses who fall foul of illegal working can be subject to a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker (£45,000 for a first offence). They could also be subject to the closure of their business, revocations of sponsor licences and a ban on re-applying for the licence for a set period (usually at least 12 months), seizure of earnings and in more serious cases, a criminal conviction of up to five years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. The individual working illegally in the UK could face up to six months imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine and will likely be deported from the UK and face a re-entry ban.
The sanctions are hefty – the direction of travel is unclear. More guidance is needed to help businesses understand their new obligations and how to avoid illegal working penalties.
Breakfast Briefing: Business Immigration and Labour’s skills policy update
If you’d like to hear more on the changes discussed in this article, join us for our breakfast webinar on 22 April to hear from our Business Immigration experts. You can read more about the session and register below.
How can we help?
Businesses must be proactive in preparing for this change, especially if they have plans to hire people in the gig economy or on zero-hour contracts. To avoid penalties for non-compliance, it is of the utmost importance that businesses eliminate the risks of recruiting an illegal worker, despite the proposed extension of the right to work checks.
To do this, they will need to review their onboarding processes and train relevant personnel involved in recruitment accordingly.
If you need any help with preparing for this change or have any queries regarding whether this guidance relates to you, please get in touch with our Business Immigration team.
