Right to Work Checks for Contractors: What Hiring Organisations and Contractors Need to Know

The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 extended right to work checks beyond employees. Contractors, agency workers and individual sub-contractors now need checks too, and in some supply chains responsibility can pass from one business to another. The aim is to stop illegal working and the exploitation that comes with it.

How the right to work rules affect you

Hiring organisations: Whoever holds the direct contract with the contractor carries out the check. If an agency supplies your contractors, that’s the agency. If you deliver work for a customer through other suppliers, the duty can reach you, so your supplier contracts need to require checks.

Contractors: Expect a check before every new engagement, inside or outside IR35, whether you work through a limited company, an umbrella or PAYE. Some clients check again when a contract is extended.

What a right to work check involves

The contractor proves they can work in the UK with an online share code, original documents or a certified digital ID check. The business checks it before work starts and keeps a dated record. If the contractor's permission has an end date, the business checks again before it runs out.

0 days

No catch-up period. The check must be done before the contractor starts work.

90 days

How long a share code stays valid, so contractors can get one ahead of their start date

2 years

How long to keep check records after an engagement ends

£60,000

The most a business can be fined for each person found working illegally. A correct check protects you from the fine.

8 things to consider

1. Build it into the timeline

Ask for documents at offer stage, not the week before the start date.

2. It's one part of onboarding

Clients often confirm right to work, IR35 status, contracts and insurance together. One gap can delay the start.

3. Labels don't decide it

"Consultant" or "outside IR35" doesn't settle whether the rules apply. A genuine business-to-business contract with a contractor's own company can fall outside them.

4. Supply chains need contract terms

Businesses further up a chain protect themselves with written terms that require checks and allow audits.

5. Substitutes need checking too

Anyone sent as a substitute needs their own check before starting.

6. Overseas work is out of scope

A contractor working remotely from abroad doesn't need a check unless they come to the UK to work.

7. Expired BRPs no longer count

eVisas have replaced BRPs, so contractors need to provide a share code instead.

8. Check everyone the same way

Run the same check on every contractor, British citizens included.

How TRIA Recruitment can help

TRIA Recruitment is an independent technology, digital and transformation recruitment business based in Bristol. We work with hiring organisations and contractors every day.

Hiring organisations: We fit our process to your onboarding, so contractors arrive ready and start dates hold.

Contractors: We tell you what the client needs from the outset.