Every employer in the United Kingdom is legally required to check that every worker has the right to work before they start — and when that worker is visa-sponsored, the check is more specific, more time-sensitive, and carries consequences that extend beyond a single hire. A failed or missing right to work check for a sponsored employee can trigger a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per worker, result in your sponsor licence being suspended or revoked, and in the most serious cases lead to criminal prosecution. Understanding exactly how these checks work — and how they differ from checks on British nationals — is one of the most important compliance tasks any sponsoring employer faces.
Why This Matters More in 2026
The UK's approach to right to work compliance has tightened steadily since the end of free movement, and 2026 represents a mature enforcement environment rather than a transitional one. Home Office compliance visits have increased, civil penalty thresholds have risen sharply (the per-worker maximum reached £60,000 in 2024 and has remained at that level), and the digital infrastructure — particularly the online right to work checking service — is now the unambiguous default for sponsored workers.
Several factors make 2026 particularly important for sponsoring employers:
- Digital-first enforcement: The Home Office now expects employers to use the online checking service for all sponsored workers who hold a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) or have been granted e-Visa status. Attempting to rely on physical documents where the online route is available weakens — and in some cases removes — your statutory excuse.
- E-Visa transition maturity: The shift from physical BRPs to e-Visas is substantially complete. Many of your sponsored employees may now hold only a digital immigration status, with no physical document to inspect. If your HR processes were built around photocopying cards, they need updating.
- Increased cross-referencing with sponsor management systems: Compliance officers increasingly cross-reference right to work records held by employers against the records on the Sponsor Management System (SMS). Gaps between the two are a red flag.
If you are still building the compliance infrastructure around sponsorship — perhaps because you recently obtained your licence — our guide to Sponsor Licence Compliance Duties After Approval 2026 covers the broader framework within which right to work checks sit.
The Two Legal Purposes of a Right to Work Check
It is worth being precise about what a right to work check actually achieves, because sponsored employers sometimes conflate it with other sponsorship obligations.
Purpose 1 — Establishing a statutory excuse. A compliant right to work check grants you a "statutory excuse" against a civil penalty if it later transpires that the employee was not entitled to work. The excuse does not apply if you knew the employee was working illegally, or if you failed to follow the prescribed process.
Purpose 2 — Confirming work is permitted in the specific role. Some visa types contain work conditions — for example, restrictions on the type of work permitted, the employer permitted, or the hours permitted. A check must also confirm that the worker's permission covers the work you are asking them to do.
For sponsored workers, both purposes interact directly with the sponsorship itself: the worker's right to work is tied to their sponsor. If you are no longer their sponsor — because they have moved to another employer or their visa has lapsed — their right to work for you has ended, regardless of what documents they hold.
The Three Prescribed Methods for Checking Sponsored Workers
Not all right to work check methods are equal, and the method available to you depends on the worker's nationality and the type of leave they hold.
Method 1: The Home Office Online Right to Work Checking Service (Share Code)
This is the primary and strongly preferred method for all sponsored workers. The employee logs into the UK Visas and Immigration online service and generates a time-limited share code. You enter this share code along with the worker's date of birth on the employer-facing portal. The system returns a real-time confirmation of the worker's status, the employer they are permitted to work for (if applicable), and any work conditions attached to their leave.
Why this is the gold standard: The check reflects the Home Office's live records. If a worker's status has changed — through a curtailment, an overstay, or a successful further application — the online service will reflect that. A physical document, by contrast, may look valid while the underlying status has been curtailed.
You must print or save a clear copy of the confirmation page, recording the date you conducted the check. This copy is your statutory excuse evidence.
Method 2: Physical Documents from the Home Office Lists
Where the online service is unavailable — for example, because the worker has a technical issue generating a share code — you may be able to use physical documents from List A or List B in the Home Office guidance.
| Document Type | List | Excuse Duration |
|---|---|---|
| British/Irish passport (unexpired or expired) | List A | Ongoing — no follow-up required |
| Settled status (pre-settled) confirmation letter with biometric | List B | Until expiry of permission |
| BRP card (for those still holding one) | List B | Until expiry on card |
| Positive Verification Notice from ECS | List B | 6 months from PVN date |
| Application Registration Card | List B | Until expiry shown |
For sponsored workers, List B documents are most common — because their right to work is time-limited to their visa permission. A List B check gives you a statutory excuse only until the document's expiry, at which point a follow-up check is mandatory.
Important 2026 note: The BRP programme has largely wound down. If a worker presents a BRP, check whether they have also been issued an e-Visa record. Where both exist, the online service should be used to verify current status.
Method 3: Employer Checking Service (ECS)
The ECS is used when a sponsored worker's leave is pending — most commonly when they have made an in-time application to extend their visa and are relying on Section 3C leave to continue working while the application is decided. You cannot verify Section 3C leave using physical documents or the online share code system alone in all cases; the ECS provides a Positive Verification Notice (PVN) that is valid for six months and establishes your statutory excuse for that period.
Always use the ECS rather than allowing a worker to continue on the basis of their expired visa alone.
How Sponsored-Worker Checks Differ from Standard Checks
| Feature | Standard Employee (British National) | Sponsored Employee |
|---|---|---|
| Check method | Online (IDSP for passport holders) or List A documents | Home Office online service (share code) or ECS |
| Frequency | Once at hire, no follow-up needed for List A | Initial check + follow-up before visa expiry |
| Employer-specific | No — right to work is unrestricted | Yes — tied to the sponsoring employer |
| SMS cross-reference | No | Yes — must align with sponsor records |
| Risk of losing statutory excuse | Low (if check done once correctly) | High — if follow-up missed or worker changes employer |
| Appropriate IDSP use | Yes, for British/Irish passport holders | No — IDSPs cannot verify sponsored-worker status |
The table above captures the core difference: sponsored-worker checks are recurring and employer-specific obligations, not one-off onboarding tasks. This is why embedding them in your HR calendar — with automated reminders keyed to visa expiry dates — is not optional if you want to remain compliant.
Step-by-Step: Conducting an Online Check for a Sponsored Worker
The following is a procedural walkthrough. Treat this as a template for your HR standard operating procedure.
- Before the start date: Request that the employee generate a share code via the UK Visas and Immigration online portal (gov.uk). They will need a UK Visas and Immigration account — most sponsored workers will already have one from their visa application.
- Run the check: Log in to the employer-facing right to work checking service at gov.uk/view-right-to-work. Enter the share code and the worker's date of birth exactly as it appears on their immigration records.
- Review the output carefully: Confirm the name matches your offer letter, that the visa type covers the work you are offering, that the employer named is your organisation (for routes where this applies), and that the expiry date is noted.
- Save and date-stamp the output: Download a PDF or take a screenshot showing the date and time of the check. Store it in the employee's HR file.
- Diarise the follow-up check: Set a reminder for no later than 28 days before the visa expiry date so you have time to act if the renewal is delayed.
- Record on the SMS: Ensure your Authorising Officer or key contact updates any relevant records on the Sponsor Management System to reflect the check.
Illustrative Worked Example: The Follow-Up Check Failure
This is an illustrative example. Figures are for demonstration only.
Scenario: TechBuild Ltd sponsors Amara, a senior software engineer on a Skilled Worker visa. HR conducts a compliant online check when Amara joins in March 2024. Her visa is valid until March 2026. HR diarises a reminder — but the reminder is set to the expiry date rather than 28 days before it.
Amara's extension application is submitted in February 2026, on time. Her visa expires on 15 March 2026. The extension is still pending on 15 March. HR's reminder fires on 15 March — but because the visa has now expired, the share code system shows her permission as lapsed, not as Section 3C leave.
HR panics, does not know about the ECS, and allows Amara to keep working without a valid check. A compliance visit occurs in April 2026. TechBuild Ltd has no statutory excuse for the period between 15 March and the visit date.
Illustrative financial exposure: At £60,000 maximum per worker, even a reduced penalty of £20,000 (reflecting partial mitigation) is a significant cost — on top of the risk to the sponsor licence itself.
The fix: Set follow-up reminders to 28 days before expiry, train HR on the ECS, and establish a protocol for handling pending-application scenarios. Our article on Sponsor Licence Renewal & Reporting Changes: 2026 Guide covers the reporting obligations that run in parallel with these compliance moments.
Common Mistakes: 7 Right to Work Errors Sponsoring Employers Make
1. Treating the Certificate of Sponsorship as a Substitute for a Check
Mistake: Assuming that because you issued a Certificate of Sponsorship and the Home Office granted the visa, the right to work question is already answered.
Solution: The CoS is an immigration document. The right to work check is an employment law obligation. They are separate. Conduct the check independently and record it separately.
2. Using an IDSP for a Sponsored Worker
Mistake: Instructing all new starters — including sponsored workers — to use the company's IDSP portal, which is configured for British and Irish passport holders.
Solution: IDSPs cannot verify the immigration status of sponsored workers. They provide no statutory excuse for this group. Route sponsored workers directly to the Home Office online checking service.
3. Missing Follow-Up Check Deadlines
Mistake: Conducting a perfect initial check but failing to diarise or conduct the repeat check before visa expiry.
Solution: Build a rolling calendar of visa expiry dates into your HR system. Assign ownership to a named individual. Set reminders at 90 days, 28 days, and 7 days before expiry.
4. Accepting a Physical BRP When an E-Visa Exists
Mistake: A worker presents an old BRP card. HR photocopies it and files it, not realising the worker now holds e-Visa status and the BRP is obsolete.
Solution: Always ask sponsored workers whether they hold a digital immigration status. If they do, use the online checking service — the BRP may no longer reflect their current status.
5. Not Checking Work Conditions
Mistake: Confirming the worker has the right to work but not checking whether the conditions of their leave permit the specific work you are asking them to do (e.g., a different role than the one on the CoS, or hours in excess of any restriction).
Solution: Read the full output of the online check, not just the "yes/no" status. Note any conditions and cross-reference them with the role the worker is performing.
6. Allowing Work During a Gap Between Visas Without Using the ECS
Mistake: The worker's visa expires, their extension is pending, and HR allows them to keep working without conducting an ECS check or obtaining a PVN.
Solution: Train HR to recognise Section 3C leave scenarios and to use the Employer Checking Service immediately when a visa has expired but an in-time application was made.
7. Storing Records Insecurely or Incompletely
Mistake: Records are stored in personal email inboxes, are undated, or are only partially saved (e.g., the check output is saved but not the date it was conducted).
Solution: Store all right to work check records in a secure, named HR file for each employee. Records must be kept for the duration of employment plus two years. The date of the check must be verifiable.
What Happens When You Get It Wrong
The consequences of right to work failures fall into three categories:
Civil penalties: A fine of up to £60,000 per illegal worker where no compliant check was conducted. Penalties are scaled based on whether you had any check at all, whether it was compliant but flawed, and whether there are aggravating factors (such as ignoring warning signs).
Sponsor licence action: The Home Office can suspend or revoke your sponsor licence if right to work failures indicate a pattern of non-compliance. Revocation means you lose the ability to sponsor any workers — existing sponsored employees may need to leave or find alternative sponsors. This has severe operational consequences for businesses that rely on sponsored talent, particularly in sectors like technology (see our guide to Recruiting Software Engineers Internationally (2026 Guide)) where sponsored roles are common.
Criminal prosecution: Where an employer is found to have knowingly employed someone without the right to work, criminal sanctions — including imprisonment — can apply. This is reserved for the most serious cases but is a real risk.
Building a Compliant Process: Practical Infrastructure
Given the complexity of managing sponsored employees' ongoing right to work status, robust process infrastructure is not a luxury. Consider the following:
A visa expiry tracker: A spreadsheet, HRIS module, or dedicated compliance tool that lists every sponsored employee, their visa type, their expiry date, and the date of their last right to work check. This should be reviewed monthly.
Assigned ownership: Your Authorising Officer (AO) or a designated HR compliance lead should own right to work compliance. Spreading responsibility informally across a team creates gaps.
A clear escalation path: When a visa is expiring, an application is pending, or a worker cannot generate a share code, HR needs a documented process — including who makes the ECS request and who decides whether the worker should be stood down pending verification.
Training records: Anyone involved in conducting right to work checks should have documented training. If a compliance visit occurs, demonstrating that your team was trained is a mitigating factor.
If you are building this infrastructure from scratch — perhaps alongside a new sponsor licence — the Sponsor Licence Application Step by Step for HR 2026 guide outlines how compliance infrastructure fits within the broader licence management framework.
Right to Work Checks in the Broader Hiring Picture
Right to work checks are one part of a wider set of obligations that come with hiring internationally. The Full Cost of UK Visa Sponsorship for Employers 2026 article sets these compliance costs in context alongside the financial obligations of sponsoring — including the Immigration Skills Charge, visa application fees, and ongoing administrative costs.
For employers who are also thinking about what happens once a sponsored employee arrives and begins work, our article on How to Onboard an Employee Relocating from Abroad (2026) covers the first-day and first-month obligations that run alongside right to work compliance.
Summary: The Non-Negotiables for Sponsored-Employee Right to Work Checks
If you take nothing else from this article, apply these five principles:
- Always use the online checking service for sponsored workers — not an IDSP, not a physical document unless genuinely necessary.
- Conduct a follow-up check before every visa expiry — diarise it at 28 days minimum before the expiry date.
- Use the Employer Checking Service whenever a worker's leave is pending and their visa has expired.
- Record everything — date-stamped, named, stored securely for employment duration plus two years.
- Check the conditions, not just the status — confirm the worker's permission covers the actual role and hours they are working.
Right to work compliance for sponsored employees is one of the most operationally demanding parts of holding a sponsor licence, but it is also one of the most binary in terms of consequences: a compliant check provides a statutory excuse; a missing or incorrect check removes it. Building the systems to get this right consistently is an investment in the security of your entire sponsorship programme.