New 'employer' definition and penalties of up to 60,000 per worker reshape compliance obligations for businesses
Significant changes to the right to work (RTW) framework come into force soon on 1 October, extending civil penalty liability to businesses that use contractors, agencies, platform worker and subcontractors, and not just to businesses with direct employees.
All UK employers are currently required to prevent illegal working under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 by carrying out prescribed RTW checks before employment starts. If those checks are carried out correctly, the employer has a "statutory excuse" against the payment of a civil penalty. Without a statutory excuse, employing someone who is disqualified from working can lead to both civil and criminal sanctions.
Under the existing scheme, businesses using contractors, subcontractors, platforms, or independent "self-employed" workers are not generally treated as the employer for RTW purposes. Liability currently sits with the direct employer and does not extend up the contracting chain.
That is about to change.
The new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 amends the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 introducing two critical reforms.
The term "employer" will extend beyond the traditional contract of employment model. The expanded definition includes those who employ individuals under a...
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