Right to work checks | Gig economy | Immigration Law

The Home Office has announced plans to extend right to work checks to companies hiring people in the gig economy or on zero-hours contracts in an attempt to bolster the prevention of illegal working regime already in place in the UK. This proposal forms part of the wider amendments to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is currently going through Parliament.

What is the gig economy?

As many of our readers will be aware, the gig economy is a particular labour market that is typically characterised by short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent contracts/jobs.

What is the proposed change?

The planned extension will require those hiring workers in the gig economy to carry out right to work checks confirming that the individual they plan to have working on behalf of their organisation has a legal right to work in the UK before they hire them. This will bring the requirement to carry out right to work checks in line with the more traditional hiring processes for more permanent positions.

Under the proposals, organisations will be required to carry out right to work checks regardless of the type of contract or working pattern in place for that individual. It also extends to third-party platforms and subcontracting arrangements that the organisation may use.

What does this mean?

Organisations that engage in non-traditional employment arrangements will be placed under the same legal obligation to conduct right to work checks as those organisations who employ staff on more traditional permanent contracts.

We expect to see this change particularly effect industries who commonly engage in non-traditional employment arrangements such as:

• Construction
• Food delivery
• Beauty
• Courier services

In particular, organisations who rely on labour in high-turnover or seasonal industries will need to review their onboarding processes and put in place appropriate training for their managers to avoid exposure to fines, criminal liability and reputational damage for non-compliance (see further below). This will ultimately place additional strain on these industries.

Where an organisation already engages in multiple different employment arrangements across their organisation structure, it may be that the organisation has been conducting right to work checks on all of those engaged by the organisation regardless of whether they fall into the gig economy category or a more traditional style of employment arrangement. In which case, we anticipate that little impact will be felt following this change. However, for those organisations who are not already conducting right to work checks on individuals they engage who are part of the gig economy, this change will increase the administrative burden on the organisation.

Consequences for non-compliance

By way of a reminder, the Home Office operate harsh penalties for non-compliance with the requirement to conduct right to work checks prior to employment. These penalties include fines of up to £45,000 for a first offence, and up to £60,000 per illegal worker for repeat breaches. Further penalties include potential business closures, director disqualifications and, if a criminal offence has occurred, potential prison sentences of up to five years.

If you need any help on work to right checks or advice on the impact of these changes on your business please do get in touch with the Employment Team on [email protected].

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