Government launches consultation on expanding immigration checks to self-employed workers

The government has launched a consultation on plans to mandate immigration status checks on individuals classed as self-employed.

Legislation to amend the existing Right to Work scheme through the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is aiming to deter illegal immigration by cracking down on illegal working in the UK.

For the first time, right to work checks would be extended to cover businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors including construction, food delivery and warehousing.

The scheme would be underpinned by civil and criminal sanctions for businesses which fail to comply.

While the existing Right to Work scheme applies to individuals classed as employees, there is no legal responsibility for employers to carry out the checks on those classed as self-employed or ‘workers’.

However, the government said companies are increasingly circumventing the rules by classing workers as self-employed. In construction this can include the use of agency workers and casual contract arrangements in the form of sub-contracting.

Alex Norris, the former building safety minister who was appointed minister for border security and asylum last month, said the legislation will restrict the ability of “rogue employers” to take advantage of illegal workers.

He added that it aims to encourage businesses to provide work opportunities to those permitted to work in the UK.

> See also: Is the construction industry’s growing reliance on agency labour becoming a problem?

“It will provide parity across industries and will set a level playing field for businesses to uphold their responsibilities to prevent illegal working in the UK,” he said.  

“This safeguard will also ensure that businesses acting lawfully will not be undercut on labour costs by those who exploit the system.”

The consultation, which will run for six weeks to 10 December 2025, is seeking views on how the changes should be enforced and how it can be made easier for employers to ensure compliance.

The legislation is effectively an interim measure to reduce illegal working prior to the introduction of digital ID cards, which the government announced in September. Digital ID cards aim to make it harder for people to avoid right to work checks or used forged documents.