Right to Work changes for construction contractors.
Right to Work responsibilities were extended to wider working arrangements on 1 October 2026. This page explains what that means for construction businesses, and how to get your worker and subcontractor evidence organised.
Last reviewed: 27 October 2026
Employers already carry Right to Work responsibilities.
If you employ people in the UK, you must check that each worker has the right to work before they start, using one of the prescribed methods: a Home Office online check using a share code, a manual check of original documents, or, for eligible documents such as British and Irish passports, an optional check through a registered Right to Work digital verification service provider. Copies of the evidence are kept for the length of employment and for two years afterwards.
A correct check, with the evidence retained in the prescribed way, is what may give an employer a statutory excuse against a civil penalty for employing someone who does not have the right to work. The check and the retained evidence establish the statutory excuse. Software does not.
An expansion to wider working arrangements, in force since 1 October 2026.
Since 1 October 2026, Right to Work liability extends beyond employees to certain contractor, platform and subcontracted arrangements, including some chains of subcontracting. The employer who directly engages the worker remains responsible for the check, and contract terms and assurances do not automatically move that responsibility. A contractor in a chain of contracts may also need written contract terms, audit rights and identity controls in place before work starts. A subcontractor's declaration is one piece of evidence; it does not, on its own, establish a statutory excuse.
The Home Office published its final employer guidance on 1 October 2026. It does not approve individual contract clauses or business-specific compliance frameworks, so check your own arrangements against the current guidance and take advice where needed.
Why this matters for construction.
Construction often uses layered engagement: direct employees, self-employed subcontractors, labour supplied through agencies, and subcontracting companies further down the chain. Whether the rules reach a particular arrangement depends on the contract and how the work is actually organised, not on the label. The guidance does not apply to individuals who run an independent business and contract directly with clients or customers, but a contractor or company label does not by itself take an arrangement out of scope.
In practice this means a construction business needs to think about Right to Work not only for its direct employees, but also across the wider workforce it engages, subject to the applicable rules in each case. Organised, retrievable evidence for every worker and subcontractor is the sensible thing to have in place either way.
Arrangements you may need to review
- Direct employees
- Self-employed subcontractors
- Agency-supplied labour
- Zero-hours and gig arrangements
- Subcontracting companies
- Plant and specialist operators
Get your evidence organised.
What Crew Matrix records
- The check method used and the evidence held against each worker
- Share-code and identity-verification outcomes where recorded
- The reviewer, the decision and the date it was recorded
- Any recorded work restrictions, expiry and follow-up dates
- Retention of the evidence throughout, and after, the working relationship
What Crew Matrix does not do
- It does not perform or complete the legal Right to Work check for you
- It does not, by itself, create a statutory excuse
- It does not decide whether a person is allowed to work
- It does not replace legal, HR or immigration advice
- It does not monitor or check documents with any third party automatically
The prescribed check and the correctly retained evidence are what may establish a statutory excuse. Crew Matrix helps you organise, review, retain and evidence that information. The employer remains responsible for the check and the decision.
Check the current Government guidance.
- Right to Work checks: an employer's guide (GOV.UK)
- Check a job applicant's right to work (GOV.UK)
- Prove your right to work to an employer / share codes (GOV.UK)
- Penalties for employing illegal workers (GOV.UK)
This page provides general product and regulatory information, not legal advice. Businesses should check the latest Home Office guidance and obtain professional advice where required.
Last reviewed: 27 October 2026. Regulatory position is subject to change; verify against the primary sources above.
See how the evidence side works.
Take the 5-minute construction demo and see how a contractor's evidence is collected, reviewed and recorded.