Right to Work checks have always been a legal requirement. What changed on 1 October 2026 is who they cover and who’s responsible. Workers and individual subcontractors are now in scope, and liability extends up the supply chain to the organisations engaging them.
Until now, most organisations checked the people they employed directly and relied on others to check everyone else on site. Right to Work responsibilities no longer stop at your employees. They now extend through your supply chain, which means your organisation is more exposed to penalties if anyone working on your projects hasn’t been properly checked.
Now, organisations may also have responsibilities where they engage individuals under:
Without a valid statutory excuse, penalties can reach £45,000 per illegal worker, rising to £60,000 for a repeat breach.
A compliance breach doesn’t just cost money. It puts your brand name and your company's reputation at serious risk.
When Right to Work checks are left to others in your supply chain, you can't see the gaps until it's too late. One missed check can become your breach.
If you engage someone as a worker or individual subcontractor, you may now be responsible for checking their right to work, on every site and every project.
Where work is subcontracted, liability can reach organisations higher up the chain, even if they never took that person on directly. Your clients will increasingly expect you to show your supply chain is compliant, too.
The changes apply to engagements that start on or after 1 October 2026, and to repeat checks that fall due after that date. Existing arrangements won’t necessarily stay out of scope.
Not every workforce platform gives you a choice of verification provider. DataScope integrates with our approved digital framework partners, so you can keep the provider you prefer and Right to Work checks become part of one connected onboarding journey.
DataScope connects workforce onboarding, compliance and access control to give contractors greater assurance over who is entering their projects, whoever engaged them, and whether the required checks have been completed.
Right to Work becomes part of every worker’s journey onto site, not a separate check that sits in another system.
Talk to us about putting a robust Right to Work process in place across your projects and supply chain.
This page is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Organisations should take their own independent legal advice on how they manage Right to Work compliance on their sites.
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Book a demo with us and we’ll put you in touch with one of our experts to arrange a suitable time and date.
Contact us on:
0845 450 7387