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Right to Work is changing on 1 October 2026. Are you ready?

On 1 October 2026, updated Right to Work guidance comes into force. If you use agency workers, operate in the gig economy, or manage a multi-site workforce, this is likely to affect you, even if it hasn't crossed your desk yet.

We put the detail to Tony Machin, Director at TrustID and executive committee member of the Association of Document Validation Professionals, and Christie Lewis, TrustID's Operations Director, to cut through the 70 pages of guidance and get to what matters. James Waby, Senior Account Executive at The Access Group, joins them to connect the guidance to what it means for Access Screening customers.

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Posted 04/08/2026

Who's responsible for Right to Work checks now? 

How you check hasn't changed. Who has to check has. 

For businesses with direct employees, nothing changes. But the updated guidance brings three new categories into scope for the first time: 

  • Temporary agency workers: the agency holds the Right to Work responsibility, not you 
  • Gig economy platforms: if workers find and receive payment through an app, the platform is responsible 
  • Online matching services: if a platform connects a worker to a job, the obligation sits with the platform 

Tony puts it plainly:

The definition of employer has been extended, and that's going to catch a lot of organisations off guard.

In practice, that means for every person doing work for you, you need to be able to say clearly who holds the Right to Work responsibility. If you can't, that's a gap to close before October and where we can help you. 

Can liability travel up the supply chain? 

Yes, and this is the part that will matter most to businesses with complex staffing arrangements such as construction, logistics, hospitality, and retail. 

If enforcement visits and can't determine who holds the direct contractual relationship with a worker, the civil penalty can now extend beyond the immediate employer into the wider supply chain. 

Three prescribed requirements need to be evidenced: 

  1. Contracts must state clearly who is responsible for the Right to Work check 
  2. Substitution controls must confirm that the person doing the work is the same person whose Right to Work was checked 
  3. Identity verification systems must support both of the above 

Substitution controls are the concept most organisations haven't come across before. 

Tony explains:

You've checked someone's Right to Work. They're cleared to work. But then someone else turns up on site. Without substitution controls, you have no way of knowing that's happened.

 Think ID cards, biometric attendance, re-verification at intervals. The check and proving the right person showed up are two different things, and the guidance now treats them as equally important.  

Does your current process cover the inital check, the ongoing proof, or both? This is a common gap we talk through with clients looking at Access Screening and Access Onboarded. 

How many employers were fined for illegal working last year? 

Christie has spent years in document verification and has seen what happens when organisations get it wrong. 

Around 13,000 immigration enforcement visits in 2025. 9,000 arrests. 2,500 civil penalties. Approximately £130 million in total fines. And that's before October, when more organisations fall into scope.

- GOV.UK 2025 

First breach: up to £45,000 per illegal worker. Repeat breach within three years: up to £60,000. 

The most common failure points?

Checks not being done at all in newly in-scope categories, no audit trail, and inconsistent processes across sites. Is the manager in Aberdeen doing the same thing as the manager in Plymouth? If you can't answer yes, you have a compliance gap.

Is your digital verification provider on the register? 

From 1 October, any Digital Verification Service Provider (DVSP), meaning a certified provider that runs digital Right to Work checks on your behalf, must appear on the OFDIA register at gov.uk. Using a provider that isn’t listed could put you in breach, however long you've worked with them, so it’s worth double checking. 

Go to gov.uk, search the OFDIA register, and confirm your provider is listed. If they're not, you need to act before October. 

says Tony. 

TrustID is a certified DVSP on the register. For Access Screening customers, Right to Work checks run through TrustID, so if you're already using Access Screening, this part is already taken care of. 

Five things to do before 1 October 

  1. Read the guidance: search Right to Work Employers Guide on gov.uk 
  2. Map every worker relationship: direct, agency, temp, gig, subcontracted, and confirm who holds the Right to Work responsibility for each 
  3. Review your contracts against the three prescribed requirements 
  4. Check your DVSP is on the OFDIA register 
  5. Audit your consistency: are your processes the same across every site? 

Not sure where to start? 

October is close enough that 'we'll sort it soon' is no longer a plan. Access Screening handles Right to Work checks digitally through TrustID a certified DVSP on the OFDIA register, with a full audit trail and consistent processes across every site. The checks happen. The evidence is there. And your hiring doesn't stop. 

Book a demo or speak to our team about how the October changes affect your business