Practical advice on conducting right to work checks for all workers, including compliance obligations and avoiding illegal working
Right to work checks are an obligation on every employing organisation when hiring any worker directly, regardless of nationality or perceived nationality.
The right to work check must be carried for everyone before they start employment in your organisation even if you know that someone is a British citizen.
While the process of conducting right to work checks is straightforward, the guide below covers the broader considerations of how compliance, legislation and case law interact with these checks. It is essential for people professionals to take account of these considerations to avoid the risk of discrimination claims.
Please note that the rules on right to work checks were updated on 1 October 2026. Now, if workers are to be engaged through a third party or through a chain of contracts, organisations need to consider the steps they need to take under new ‘extended liability’ provisions, including the potential of having to re-do checks or revisit contract arrangements. Watch the video below to understand the context of the employer liability change and access the infographic to contextualise the 'before and after' of what this means for employers. This guide has been updated to account for this change.
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