Confusing changes to sponsor guidance on right to work checks

On 6 March 2026, the Home Office updated sponsor guidance and introduced broader language, seemingly to extend the duty to retain right to work records to all workers even those not directly employed by the sponsor including references to:

“employ or engage”

Crucially, “engage” was not defined, which created uncertainty as to the scope of the duty.

A broad interpretation suggested that sponsors might need to carry out checks for contractors, freelancers, subcontractor’s employees, platform workers (e.g. courier services), and secondees etc.

The March changes also amended revocation grounds to allow action where a sponsor:

Employs or engages a person without permission to work.

A further update on 8 April introduced revised wording.

“You must check that any worker you wish to sponsor (including a worker who is not your direct employee), or any worker you otherwise wish to employ or directly engage, has permission to enter or stay in the UK and can do the work in question before they start working for you.…”

This amendment clarifies that:

“engagement” is intended to be limited to “direct” engagement, for the time being. The term ‘engaged’ or ‘engagement’ remains undefined, however the inclusion of the word ‘direct’ appears to narrow the scope of this obligation.

Case worker guidance dealing with compliance visits appears to contradict itself. This explains that: 

“If a sponsor does not take copies of passports or immigration documents for sponsored workers or students, where applicable, and undertake right to work checks for all workers, they automatically fail the record keeping and maintaining documents section of the visit report because they have failed the requirement of:

• Immigration status monitoring
• Maintaining documents

But then also explains that: 

“Such checks for non-sponsored staff are not mandatory and a sponsor is not in breach of their sponsor duties if they do not make these checks. If, however, the sponsor was found to be employing an illegal worker, the sponsor would not be classed by the Home Office as having a ‘statutory excuse’. For further information see the section on migrant issues and illegal working.”

In the first paragraph caseworkers are instructed that failure to undertake right to work checks and to retain evidence would result in automatic failure of the record keeping requirement and by extension, licence revocation, whereas the second paragraph explains that these checks are not mandatory. 

In practice, the Home Office would be concerned if right to work checks were not being properly carried out and the correct evidence were not being retained. 

This tension creates uncertainty for sponsors as to what is legally required versus what is expected in practice during compliance visits. Sponsors would be well advised to follow the stricter of these requirements, and to ensure that right to work checks are being carried out, and evidence retained, for all workers they wish to sponsor (including those who are not direct employees), and for any other worker they otherwise wish to employ or directly engage.