‘Right to Work checks’ for Construction Firms: What changes from 1 October 2026

For construction businesses, where projects often rely on a combination of directly employed staff, subcontractors, labour agencies and self-employed individuals, the changes are particularly important.

From 1 October 2026, the Government is significantly expanding the scope of the Right to Work (RTW) Scheme. Responsibility for checking an individual’s right to work will no longer be limited to traditional employment relationships.

This means that construction firms may need to consider Right to Work compliance further down their labour supply chain – including individuals supplied through subcontractors or other labour providers.

The potential consequences of getting this wrong are significant, with penalties of up to £60,000 per illegal worker.

Why construction firms need to take notice

Construction businesses frequently operate with complex labour arrangements.

A typical project might involve:

• Directly employed construction workers
• Self-employed subcontractors working under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)
• Labour-only subcontractors
• Specialist trades supplied by subcontracting companies
• Agency workers
• Temporary and casual workers
• Workers supplied through several layers of subcontracting
• Labour supplied by recruitment or labour agencies

Historically, businesses have generally been responsible for Right to Work checks on their employees, rather than every individual working on their sites.

From 1 October 2026, that distinction becomes much less straightforward.

The new rules extend the RTW requirements to a wider range of working arrangements where an individual is personally providing services to a business – even where they are not directly employed or engaged by that business.

For construction firms, this means it is important to understand who is working on your sites, who has supplied them and who is responsible for checking their right to work.

Do Right to Work checks apply to CIS subcontractors?

Potentially, yes.

One of the most important areas for construction businesses to review is their use of individual subcontractors operating under CIS.

Being treated as self-employed for tax purposes does not necessarily mean that an individual falls outside the expanded Right to Work requirements.

The new rules can capture individuals personally providing services through contractual arrangements, including certain subcontracting arrangements.

This means construction firms should not assume that a CIS subcontractor is automatically outside the scope of Right to Work checks.

Instead, businesses should review their labour arrangements and establish exactly where responsibility for RTW checks sits.

What about subcontractors further down the supply chain?

This is likely to be one of the more challenging areas for construction businesses.

You may have a contractual relationship with a principal subcontractor, who in turn engages another subcontractor, who supplies individual workers to a project.

The new rules recognise that businesses operating at the top of a lengthy supply chain may not have direct contact with every individual worker.

The Government therefore allows contractual arrangements to specify which party is responsible for carrying out the Right to Work checks.

A written statement can be included in the relevant contracts to establish who has responsibility for the checks.

Where the arrangements meet the Home Office requirements, the business with legal responsibility for the check can rely on those contractual arrangements when establishing a statutory excuse if illegal working subsequently arises.

For construction firms, this makes contract wording and supply-chain management particularly important.

Don’t assume your subcontractor has dealt with it

One of the biggest risks is simply assuming that someone else has carried out the necessary checks.

For example, a construction business might engage a subcontractor on the basis that:

“They are self-employed, so Right to Work isn’t our responsibility.”

Or:

“The labour agency has checked everyone.”

Or:

“Our subcontractor is responsible for checking their own workers.”

From 1 October, businesses will need to be much clearer about whether those assumptions are correct and whether the contractual arrangements actually establish who holds the legal responsibility.

A verbal understanding may not be enough.

Construction businesses should review their contracts with subcontractors, labour agencies and other suppliers and ensure that responsibility for RTW checks is clearly documented.

What Right to Work checks will you need to carry out?

The recognised checking methods remain broadly unchanged.

Depending on the individual and circumstances, checks can include:

• Home Office online Right to Work checks using a share code
• Manual checks of acceptable documents where permitted
• Checks through an approved Right to Work Digital Verification Service Provider (DVSP)
• Verification through the Employer Checking Service, where applicable

The important change for construction firms is therefore not necessarily how the checks are conducted, but who may now be responsible for ensuring they have been carried out.

Construction businesses should review their labour supply chain now

With the changes coming into force on 1 October 2026, construction businesses should consider carrying out a review of their workforce and supply chain before the new rules take effect.

1. Map your workforce

Identify everyone who works on your projects, not just your employees.

Consider:

• Employees
• CIS subcontractors
• Individual contractors
• Labour-only subcontractors
• Agency workers
• Temporary workers
• Workers supplied through subcontractors
• Individuals supplied through multiple layers of the supply chain

2. Identify who is responsible for Right to Work checks

For each category of worker, establish:

Who engages them?
Who supplies them?
Who carries out the RTW check?
Where is the evidence retained?

If responsibility sits with another business, make sure this is properly documented.

3. Review your subcontractor agreements

Your existing subcontractor and labour supply agreements may need updating to reflect the expanded requirements.

In particular, consider whether contracts clearly identify the party responsible for carrying out Right to Work checks and retaining the necessary evidence.

This is particularly important where you use multiple tiers of subcontractors.

4. Check your labour agencies

If you use recruitment agencies or labour suppliers, review your arrangements with them.

Don’t simply rely on an informal assurance that workers have been checked. Establish what checks are being carried out, by whom and what evidence will be available if required.

5. Review site processes

Right to Work compliance shouldn’t sit solely with HR.

For construction businesses, procurement teams, contract managers, project managers and site management may all play a role in engaging or managing workers.

Make sure those involved understand the new requirements and know what they need to do before an individual starts work.

6. Keep an evidence trail

Businesses should be able to demonstrate their compliance if requested by the Home Office.

Consider establishing a consistent process for retaining evidence of checks and documenting contractual arrangements where responsibility sits elsewhere in the supply chain.

What should construction firms do before 1 October 2026?

The key message is simple:

Don’t wait until a new worker arrives on site to work out who is responsible for their Right to Work check.

Before 1 October, construction businesses should:

• Review all categories of workers used across their projects
• Map their subcontractor and labour supply chains
• Identify arrangements that could fall within the expanded RTW requirements
• Review contracts with subcontractors, labour agencies and other labour providers
• Clearly document responsibility for carrying out checks
• Review onboarding and site access procedures
• Check how RTW evidence is recorded and retained
• Train relevant HR, procurement, operational and site personnel
• Obtain specialist advice where supply-chain or substitution arrangements are complex

A particular consideration for construction businesses

Construction firms should be careful not to treat CIS status, self-employed status or the fact that someone works through a subcontractor as automatically removing Right to Work responsibilities.

The new rules are designed to capture a wider range of working arrangements.

For businesses operating complex construction supply chains, getting clarity on responsibilities now could help avoid significant compliance problems later.