Expansion of illegal working regime

Expansion of illegal working regime

The government has announced that it intends to extend right to work checks to businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers. When will this happen?

Current position: The requirement to conduct right to work checks under the preventing illegal working regime currently only applies where there's a 'traditional employment' relationship, i.e. it only covers employees employed under a contract of employment or apprenticeship. You are under no obligation to carry out right to work checks on other workers or self-employed individuals unless you are sponsoring them.

Extension of checks: The government has announced that it is to extend the preventing illegal working regime so that businesses will be required to also undertake right to work checks on anyone who will be working for them, including workers in the gig economy and those on zero-hours contracts. Once implemented, you will need to conduct compliant right to work checks on such persons before hiring them and you will be brought within the scope of receiving a civil penalty of up to £45,000 per illegal worker for non-compliance. Other penalties may also apply, e.g. director disqualification, business closure and, if a criminal offence has occurred, a prison sentence of up to five years.

Relevant legislation: The government is amending the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is currently before Parliament, to include these provisions. A full consultation with businesses on implementing the checks will then follow before they come into force.

Tip: If you are in a business sector that engages persons in non-traditional employment arrangements, you will need to take particular care to comply with these requirements once they take effect.

Lack of clarity: What's not clear at this stage is who exactly will be brought within scope of right to work checks. The government has mentioned gig economy and zero-hours workers but has not stated whether checks will also apply to other workers and self-employed contractors.

It's not been confirmed yet when this change to the law will take effect, but it requires legislation to be amended, plus there's to be a full consultation with businesses first, so late 2025 or early 2026 seems a likely implementation date.