Right to Work Checks: Home Office Publishes a Draft Employer’s Guide

Right to Work Checks: Home Office Publishes a Draft Employer’s Guide

The Home Office published a draft updated employer’s guide to right to work checks on 16 July 2026, giving employers an early sight of how they will be expected to confirm a worker’s status. The draft runs to 72 pages and would replace the version that has applied since 26 June 2025. It lands ahead of a wider set of illegal working reforms, and it signals where the practical burden on employers is heading well before the final version takes effect.

How to carry out right to work checks

The guide sets out the two ways an employer establishes a statutory excuse against a civil penalty. The first is a manual check of original documents from the approved lists, taken in the worker’s presence, then copied and dated. The second is an online check using the Home Office service and a share code, which is the route for anyone holding an eVisa. The draft keeps the familiar structure covering what a check is, when to carry out an initial check, when a follow-up is needed for time-limited permission, and how status is handled when staff transfer under TUPE. It also restates the point that a check completed correctly before employment begins is what gives the employer its defence if a worker later turns out to have no right to work.

How the draft changes right to work checks

The direction of travel is digital. Physical immigration documents are being phased out for many workers, and the guide reflects that most people granted permission now receive an eVisa rather than a card or a biometric residence permit. Expired biometric residence permits are not acceptable proof. Where a worker has an outstanding application or an appeal made in time, an employer can rely on a Positive Verification Notice from the Employer Checking Service. The draft also points employers towards certified digital identity verification for those who cannot readily be checked in person, reflecting a wider move to identity providers approved by the government for this purpose. Employers that already rely on a manual paper process will find the draft nudges them firmly towards the online route, and towards keeping the by-product of each check, the share code result or the notice, on file.

The wider illegal working reforms

The update does not stand alone. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 expands the illegal working regime to cover more working arrangements than the traditional employee relationship, bringing a broader range of engagements, including some gig and contractor arrangements, into scope. The reforms have been widely reported as taking effect from 1 October 2026. Civil penalties for employing someone without permission to work remain substantial, and the expansion increases the number of businesses that need a reliable checking process rather than an occasional one applied only to obvious new hires. For firms that engage workers through agencies, subcontractors or short assignments, the change is a prompt to look again at who is responsible for checking whom, and at what point in the chain the check is recorded.

What employers should do before the changes

Employers do not need to wait for the final guide to prepare. Reviewing onboarding so that online checks are used wherever an eVisa applies, keeping clear evidence of every check with dates, and setting follow-up reminders for time-limited permission all reduce risk. For roles where identity is harder to establish, or where engagements sit outside the usual employee model, structured pre-employment screening and right to work checks carried out by a specialist provide a documented, defensible trail if a check is ever questioned by the Home Office.

If your business wants pre-employment screening and right to work status handled properly before the rules change, talk to the Tremark pre-employment checks team and complete the enquiry form below.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do the new right to work checks take effect?

The draft employer’s guide was published on 16 July 2026, and the wider illegal working reforms have been reported as taking effect from 1 October 2026. Employers should treat the draft as the direction the final version will take.

Can an employer still accept physical documents?

Manual checks of original documents from the approved lists remain possible for some workers, but anyone holding an eVisa must be checked through the Home Office online service using a share code.

What is a Positive Verification Notice?

It is confirmation from the Employer Checking Service that a worker with an outstanding, in-time application or appeal can be employed, giving the employer a time-limited statutory excuse while the case is decided.