To help prevent illegal working, organisations that sponsor workers must carry out right to work checks. These checks must be done for all employees, as well as for workers that are sponsored. 

Under the law, financial penalties for illegal working can currently only be applied where someone is an employee. However, if a sponsor does not carry out the required right to work checks more broadly, they could still face serious consequences including losing their sponsor licence. Earlier updates to the sponsor guidance (published on 6 March 2026 and clarified on 8 April 2026) suggested that sponsors might have to carry out checks on anyone they “directly engaged”. As this term had not been clearly defined, it caused confusion and raised concerns that the requirement might apply to a wide group of people, such as contractors, casual workers, agency workers and even freelancers. 

 New guidance issued on 20 May 2026 has removed this wording. The Home Office confirmed that references to ‘engaged’ or ‘directly engaged’ should be ignored. As a result, the rules have now returned to their previous position (before 06 March 2026). Sponsors must carry out right to work checks on all employees and any sponsored workers regardless of whether they are sponsored as employees, self-employed workers or contractors. 

This update reminds employers that if they are sponsoring, they should ensure that they carry out the relevant right to work checks on both employees and non-employees. 

For more advice, please contact our Employment Team.