Who Owns the Right to Work Check? What the UK’s 1 October Compliance Shift Means for Staffing Agencies

Key Takeaways

• From 1 October 2026, the UK Right to Work Scheme expands beyond traditional employees to cover individuals engaged under worker’s contracts, as individual subcontractors, and through certain online matching arrangements.
• For employment businesses supplying temporary workers, the Home Office guidance confirms that the employment business is responsible for carrying out the Right to Work check and establishing the statutory excuse.
• New extended-liability provisions can, in certain contractual arrangements, expose organisations further up a supply chain to civil-penalty liability.
• For high-volume staffing operations, connecting Right to Work status, document expiry dates and worker deployment can help reduce the operational risk of assigning workers whose eligibility has not been verified.

The question of who owns the Right to Work check is becoming more important for the UK staffing industry.

From 1 October 2026, the Right to Work Scheme expands beyond traditional employment relationships. The new rules bring workers engaged under worker’s contracts and individual subcontractors into scope, alongside certain online matching services. New rules also introduce circumstances in which civil-penalty liability can extend beyond the employer with the direct contractual relationship with the worker.

For employment businesses supplying temporary workers, however, the position is clear.

The latest Home Office guidance gives the example of an employment business supplying temporary hospitality workers to bars and restaurants. In that scenario, the employment business is treated as the employer for Right to Work purposes and is responsible for carrying out the check. It may be liable for a civil penalty if the worker is found to be working illegally.

That distinction matters for staffing agencies operating at scale.

Why the Right to Work Changes Matter for Temp Staffing Operations

For agencies supplying workers across hospitality, events, security, logistics and other shift-based sectors, Right to Work compliance has to operate alongside fast-moving recruitment and scheduling.

The challenge isn't simply completing the initial check. Agencies may also need to manage time-limited permissions, follow-up checks, worker identity and evidence of compliance while continuing to fill shifts quickly.

The operational pressure becomes particularly clear when workers are being onboarded and deployed across multiple client sites:

• Complex employment relationships: Agencies need to understand which organisation has responsibility for the worker under the particular contractual arrangement.
• Remote onboarding: Workers may need to complete Right to Work checks without visiting an agency office.
• Time-limited permissions: Where a worker has a time-limited right to work, the employer must complete the required follow-up check to retain its statutory excuse.
• Supply-chain exposure: In certain contractual arrangements, organisations further up the chain may also face extended civil-penalty liability. However, this liability is not automatic and depends on the contractual arrangements and prescribed requirements being met.

The potential civil penalty is significant. The Home Office guidance states that employers can face a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker, while knowingly employing an illegal worker can constitute a criminal offence carrying up to five years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

Turning Right to Work Compliance into Operational Data

For high-volume staffing businesses, the practical challenge is connecting compliance information with the day-to-day process of deploying workers.

Rather than keeping Right to Work information separately from scheduling and workforce operations, agencies can connect worker eligibility, document information and expiry dates to the systems used to manage shifts.

That can help operations teams:

• Identify workers whose checks are incomplete: Compliance status can be visible alongside the worker's operational profile before they are considered for deployment.
• Track time-limited permissions: Expiry dates can be recorded alongside worker information so teams know when follow-up action is required.
• Connect compliance with scheduling: Where a platform supports it, worker eligibility can be used as a scheduling condition, reducing the risk of assigning workers whose required checks have not been completed.
• Maintain an audit trail: Digital records can make it easier to demonstrate when checks were completed and what evidence was retained.

The Home Office guidance requires employers to carry out a prescribed check before employment begins and, where applicable, carry out follow-up checks for workers with time-limited permission.

For organisations operating through more complex contractual chains, the new rules also place greater emphasis on maintaining evidence around contractual arrangements, compliance reviews, assurances and other measures used to establish a statutory excuse against extended liability.

The result is that Right to Work compliance increasingly sits alongside the operational data a staffing business already needs to manage its workforce.

For staffing businesses, connecting onboarding, compliance and worker deployment in one workflow can make it easier to identify issues before a worker reaches the shift.

FAQs

Who is responsible for Right to Work checks when a temp agency supplies workers?

Where an employment business engages workers under a worker's contract and supplies them to clients, the latest Home Office guidance states that the employment business is the employer for Right to Work purposes and is responsible for carrying out the check and establishing the statutory excuse.

Can liability extend beyond the staffing agency?

Yes, in certain circumstances. From 1 October 2026, extended-liability provisions can apply to certain contractual chains, online matching arrangements and substitution arrangements. However, extended liability does not automatically transfer responsibility for the original Right to Work check to another organisation in the chain.

What happens if a worker's Right to Work expires?

Where a worker has a time-limited right to work, the employer must carry out the required follow-up check to retain its statutory excuse. If the worker cannot demonstrate continued permission to work, the employer may need to take further action depending on the circumstances.

How can agencies complete Right to Work checks remotely?

The Home Office guidance provides three prescribed routes for establishing a statutory excuse: a manual document-based check, a Home Office online Right to Work check, or a check using a registered Right to Work Digital Verification Service Provider (RtW DVSP), where applicable.

For workers using the Home Office online system, agencies can use the worker's share code to access their Right to Work information. Where digital verification is used, the relevant requirements for the prescribed service and check must be followed.

What are the penalties for employing someone without the right to work?

The Home Office states that civil penalties can reach £60,000 per illegal worker. In serious cases, knowingly employing someone who does not have the right to work can also result in criminal prosecution, with a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine.