Guidance

Illegal working penalties: codes of practice for employers

This code of practice sets out the prescribed checks that employers should conduct to avoid a civil penalty in the event of illegal working.

From:
Home Office and Immigration Enforcement
Published
1 July 2021
Last updated
20 December 2024 — See all updates

Documents

Code of practice on preventing illegal working: Right to Work Scheme for employers, 13 February 2024 (accessible)

HTML

Code of practice on preventing illegal working: Right to Work Scheme for employers, 13 February 2024

PDF, 344 KB, 26 pages

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Code of practice on preventing illegal working: Right to Work Scheme for employers, 13 February 2024 (Welsh accessible version)

HTML

Code of practice on preventing illegal working: Right to Work Scheme for employers, 13 February 2024 (Welsh)

PDF, 272 KB, 24 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alternativeformats@homeoffice.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

Employers have a key role to play in preventing illegal working in the UK. They do this by carrying out right to work checks on people before employing them, to make sure they are allowed to do the work in question.

This code of practice sets out the prescribed checks that employers should conduct to avoid a civil penalty in the event of illegal working and the factors that the Home Office takes into account when determining the amount of any penalty issued.

Previous versions of the code of practice are on the National Archives website.

Updates to this page

Published 1 July 2021
Last updated 20 December 2024 + show all updates

  1. Added a Welsh translation of the codes of practice for employers.

  2. Archived 'Code of practice on preventing illegal working: 6 April 2022 and the Draft code of practice on preventing illegal working: Right to Work Scheme for employers, November 2023'. Both are now out of date as the changes to the civil penalties are already in force with the new amounts.

  3. Published the code of practice on preventing illegal working: Right to Work Scheme for employers. The code comes into force from 13 February 2024.

  4. Draft code of practice on preventing illegal working: Right to Work Scheme for employers, November 2023.

  5. Added accessible version of code of practice on preventing illegal working, in force from 6 April 2022.

  6. Added code of practice on preventing illegal working, in force from 6 April 2022.

  7. Added draft code of practice on preventing illegal working, March 2022.

  8. Accessible HTML version of 'Code of practice on preventing illegal working, 1 July 2021' added.

  9. First published.

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