Right to Work Scheme: Tackling Illegal Working
House of Commons · Written Statements · 30 Jun 2026 · 1 speech · Official Report
The Government are today laying regulations to strengthen the right to work and the right to rent schemes, alongside updated statutory codes of practice for employers and landlords. These measures implement provisions in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 and will come into force in October 2026, in line with the common commencement date for businesses. Clamping down on illegal working continues to be a critical part of this Government’s work to restore fairness, order and control within the immigration and asylum system. The ability to work illegally is a driver of illegal migration and exploitation. Illegal working undermines honest businesses and exposes vulnerable individuals to exploitation. This Government are clear that such activity will not be tolerated. The reforms introduce, for the first time, an extension of the right to work scheme and the associated civil penalties for non-compliance, to cover companies that contract workers or individual subcontractors to provide services under their company name, such as agency workers or workers in the gig economy. These changes close gaps in the current framework and ensure that responsibility for the prevention of illegal working sits appropriately across modern labour market structures. The regulations also strengthen the framework for digital identity verification. They introduce updated requirements for the use of digital verification service providers, mandating that when choosing to use digital...