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The UK Government hasn’t changed Right to Work rules yet but the direction of travel is now very clear.
The Home Office has opened consultation on updates to its Code of Practice for employers, with proposed changes expected to take effect from October 2026. On the surface, these look like technical updates. In reality, they signal a much bigger shift in how compliance will be judged.
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From “Did you check?” to “Did you treat everyone equally?”
Historically, Right to Work compliance has been relatively simple: complete the check correctly, keep a record, and you are covered.
The proposed changes introduce something more nuanced and more challenging. Employers must not treat individuals differently based on how they prove their right to work. That includes differences between digital checks and physical documents, eVisa share codes and passports, Employer Checking Service (ECS) checks, time-limited and permanent status, and combinations of documents versus single documents.
If implemented, this shifts compliance from a task to a process.
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The uncomfortable reality: this already happens
Most organisations do not intentionally discriminate. But in practice, hiring decisions are often influenced by how easy a Right to Work check is to complete.
Hiring managers naturally gravitate towards familiar documents such as passports, faster checks and simpler processes. They are often less comfortable with ECS checks, complex document combinations and less familiar routes such as eVisas. That is not necessarily driven by bias, but by the fact that some candidates are simply easier to process than others.
That is exactly what the proposed changes are designed to address.
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Why this creates a compliance risk
Under the proposed guidance, employers will be expected to support all valid Right to Work routes equally. That means not delaying or rejecting candidates because one route is more complex than another, carrying out ECS checks where required, treating individuals with time-limited status fairly, and applying a consistent process regardless of how status is evidenced.
This creates a new kind of risk. Even if every check is technically correct, inconsistent treatment could still be non-compliant.
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Why most organisations are not set up for this
For many employers, the problem is not policy. It is process.
Most Right to Work workflows are still fragmented across different tools or teams, partially manual, dependent on hiring manager knowledge, and inconsistent across candidate types. The result is often variation in candidate experience, delays for more complex checks, increased reliance on judgement calls, and difficulty tracking follow-up requirements.
In short, the system itself creates the conditions for inconsistency.
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The shift: Right to Work becomes a process problem
The proposed changes make one thing clear: compliance will depend on how your process operates, not just whether checks are completed.
To meet that standard, organisations will need to standardise all Right to Work pathways, remove decision-making from hiring managers wherever possible, ensure ECS, eVisa, digital and manual checks are handled consistently, track time-limited permissions and rechecks, and deliver a uniform experience for every candidate.
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What this means in practice
Forward-thinking organisations are already moving towards single workflows that handle all Right to Work routes in one place. They are using automation to reduce manual intervention, creating clearer audit trails across every check type, and putting lifecycle management in place for ongoing compliance.
That matters because adapting hiring processes takes time, and waiting until 2026 may be too late.
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How Rightcheck addresses this challenge
At Rightcheck, we have built our platform around this exact complexity.
Our platform brings together digital verification through DVS and IDVT, eVisa checks via share code, manual document validation, and Employer Checking Service checks within a single standardised workflow.
That means there is no variation in process depending on candidate type, no reliance on hiring manager judgement, and no gaps between different check methods. The result is simple: every candidate is processed in the same way, regardless of how they prove their right to work.
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Looking ahead
The consultation is still open, and the final version of the guidance may evolve. But the intent is clear. Consistency, fairness and process integrity are becoming central to compliance.
Organisations that start adapting now will be in a stronger position not only to meet the new requirements, but also to improve efficiency and candidate experience at the same time.
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Final thought
Right to Work has traditionally been treated as a compliance checkpoint.
The next phase will treat it as a system.
And the question will not just be, “Did you complete the check?” It will be, “Did your process treat every candidate equally?”
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