Proposed Right to Work changes impacting casual workers

The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, confirmed over the weekend that the government has plans to expand the UK’s Right to Work scheme in relation to self-employed contractors.

Right to work checks are undertaken to enable an employer to secure a statutory excuse to a civil penalty being imposed for illegal working. If a civil penalty is imposed, this can be for up to £60,000 per individual found to be working illegally, so undertaking a compliant right to work is important.

In relation to self-employed workers, at present, Home Office Right to Work guidance confirms that only employers who hold a sponsor licence need to undertake a right to work check (to establish a statutory excuse to a civil penalty for illegal working) on those who are self-employed. It states as follows:

“Where the worker is not your direct employee (for example, if they’re self-employed), you are not required to establish a statutory excuse. However, you must still carry out these checks (and retain evidence you have done so) if you are a sponsor licence holder and are sponsoring the worker to ensure compliance with your sponsor duties.”

Under plans announced on Sunday 30 March 2025, the Home Secretary confirmed that the requirement to conduct a compliant right to work check would be extended, so that any organisation engaging self-employed contractors to carry out work on behalf of the company must carry out a right to work. If a check is not undertaken and the self-employed contractor is found to be working illegally, the company who engaged the contractor could then be liable to a civil penalty for illegal working.

Yvette Cooper informed the BBC that the current right to work system is not impacting the gig economy, which is essentially the labour market consisting of short-term contracts and casual work. Combined with increasing immigration enforcement which is seeing sponsorship compliance visits increasing, the Home Secretary is hoping that further preventative action undertaken by employers will help to prevent illegal working and will help to reduce criminal gangs from promising illegal work and arranging illegal border crossings.

The expansion to right to work checks will be confirmed when the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is passed; the bill is currently being considered in the House of Commons and will need to pass through the House of Lords before receiving Royal Assent and becoming law. Once in force, the government aims to consult with businesses in relation to the implementation of right to work checks on casual workers.