From 1 October 2026, the UK's Right to Work Scheme will apply to a wider range of working arrangements.
While the basic checking process for directly employed staff will remain largely unchanged, organisations may need to consider whether their wider workforce and contracting arrangements bring them within the scope of the regime.
For organisations using contractors, freelancers, subcontractors, platforms or substitution arrangements, understanding whether the new rules apply will be an important part of preparing for October.
These are some of the questions we have been asked:
Not necessarily, however, the scope is widening beyond traditional employment relationships. Worker contracts, individual subcontracting arrangements and online matching services now fall within the regime for conducting right to work checks before work commences.
Organisations should start by considering who actually carries out work for them, rather than focusing solely on their directly employed workforce. This may include workers, individual contractors, subcontractors and workers on non-traditional arrangements.
What matters is how the arrangement works in practice, not the label attached to it. Labelling someone "self-employed", "contractor" or "freelancer" will not necessarily determine whether an arrangement falls within scope.
A useful first step is to map the...
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