The Home Office has announced a crackdown on illegal working across all sectors of the economy – which will mean that for the first time, right-to-work checks will be required on self-employed tradespeople in construction. 

The new rules announced by the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will mean construction companies or their labour providers will be legally required to carry out checks confirming that anyone working in their name is eligible to work in the UK, bringing them in line with employers who take on full employees under PAYE employment contracts.

The Home Office checks will be extended to cover businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers with construction, food delivery, beauty salons and courier services singled out as targets. 

Commenting on the announcement, Hudson Contract managing director Ian Anfield said: “We use best practice in everything we do to help eliminate abuses of immigration rules and stamp out modern day slavery in supply chains, but full-blown right to work checks have never been a legal requirement for us or our clients to worry about. 

“The exact mechanics are yet to be revealed but we assume under the new rules, CIS operatives will have to show original documentation, such as passports, birth certificates, driving licenses or national identity cards, before they start work. 

“As it becomes clear where the new responsibilities will sit and how to demonstrate compliance, we will adapt our procedures, including our 4Site labour management app, to make it as efficient as possible for clients to get the checks done and eligible operatives onto sites without delays.

“We are actively monitoring developments and will implement efficient processes once the government provides firm details and timelines for these new requirements.”

If companies have any questions about the new rules, they are invited to get in touch with Hudson Contract via regional account managers or our office on 01262 401040.