New right to work requirements came into force on 1 October, just as hospitality businesses such as bakery cafes enter one of their busiest recruitment periods.
Managers are already facing pressure to onboard workers quickly ahead of the festive period, and the changes (which took effect on 1 October) could add additional challenges.
Last year, Christmas job searches rose by 28% and seasonal job postings increased by 16% across all sectors. But recruitment challenges including labour shortages saw a lot of businesses resort to illegal hiring, which carry the risk of fines of up to £60k per illegal worker, and unlimited fines and even up to five years in jail for those that knowingly hire someone without the right to work in the UK.
The Home Office issued a total of 2,438 civil penalties to employers in 2025, with fines exceeding £130m. Restaurants, takeaways, and cafés recorded the highest number of illegal-working visits, at 3,559, alongside 2,523 arrests.
In answerign five key questions below, Christie Lewis, operations director for identity verification expert TrustID, explains what the changes mean for hospitality businesses and what they should be doing to ensure their onboarding processes are ready to meet these requirements ahead of the Christmas trading period:
Who needs to carry out Right to Work checks?
Right to Work checks must be carried out by employers on all staff, including temporary, full-time, and part-time workers.
Under the new extended liability provisions, liability for illegal working can potentially extend further up a contracting chain in cases where the direct employer cannot be identified or cannot meet the relevant requirements. As such, businesses should ensure Right to Work responsibilities and appropriate controls are clearly established with agencies and other third parties, while understanding where their own liability may sit under the new rules.
Businesses should review contracts with third-party recruitment agencies to ensure they clearly set out who is responsible for Right to Work checks, how compliance can be audited and what happens if illegal working is identified. Where extended liability applies, businesses will also need to be able to demonstrate that appropriate contractual terms, substitution controls and identity verification processes were in place and operating effectively in practice before work commenced, with evidence retained to support this if requested by the Home Office.
How should time pressured last-minute recruitment be handled?
During the busy festive period, managers can be tempted to just get staff members on shift quickly, with the intention that they’ll complete the relevant paperwork during a quieter moment.
This could leave businesses open to potential breaches when it comes to ensuring the contracted worker has the right permissions to work or that they don’t have any restrictions barring them from working that have been highlighted in any Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.
Under the new legislation, all Right to Work checks must be completed before an employee starts their first shift. As such, it’s crucial that all businesses ensure all managers follow the same Right to Work check processes or that they have confirmed the checks have been completed by any agencies, regardless of time constraints, and that all relevant documentation has been logged on file correctly.
Do checks need to be done on substitution workers from agencies?
Festive shift work sometimes sees agencies send an alternative staff member when the original worker is no longer available.
Under the new guidance, businesses will need to ensure the relevant Right to Work checks have been completed for the person actually carrying out the work. Relevant identity checks before a shift begins are essential and can be done by a manager or another person who regularly sees the worker.
Such checks don’t necessarily need to be done by the person who completed the original Right to Work check. They can be done by manually verifying an individual’s photographic identification, or by using a third-party digital verification system.
How should evidence and audit trails be stored?
Having the right policies and contractual clauses in place is not enough. Businesses need to be able to demonstrate that the appropriate checks are actually being carried out, and that relevant records are being retained.
This should cover Right to Work checks as well as any other screening required for particular roles, including DBS checks where appropriate. Businesses should audit and map out contractors and agencies, review evidence of completed checks and make sure responsibilities are clear across managers, sites and third parties. They should also have clear records of who is employed directly by them and who has been employed by a third party.
For employees with time-limited permissions, all limited permission expiry dates should be logged, diarised and follow-up checks scheduled. They must also ensure capacity to store someone’s Right to Work information for the entire duration of their employment, plus an additional two years.
Can festive recruitment processes cope alongside new right to work changes?
The new guidance recommends using a certified Right to Work Digital Verification Service Provider (DVSP) where appropriate, which can help reduce the administrative burden and support consistent checks. This can also give businesses greater assurance that the relevant documentation is in place and that processes are being followed in line with the new guidance.
Partnering with a DVSP means you can check any relevant Right to Work documentation quickly and easily, later providing evidence if requested by the Home Office.
With the seasonal recruitment period approaching, it’s vital now more than ever that hospitality businesses review not just what their staff onboarding policies say, but how they work in practice, to ensure they don’t get caught out by the new legislation.
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