The rapid growth of the gig economy has transformed how organisations source and allocate labour. As flexible working models expand—covering delivery drivers, private‑hire operators, freelance contractors, and on‑demand workers—businesses must ensure their compliance frameworks evolve accordingly.
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 marks a significant shift in the UK’s illegal working regime. For the first time, right‑to‑work obligations extend beyond conventional employment and apply to a wider range of “working arrangements”, including platform workers, subcontractor networks, and intermediary‑facilitated services.
Once implemented, any organisation that allocates, facilitates, or enables the provision of work will be required to carry out fully compliant right‑to‑work checks before engagement. Failure to do so exposes businesses to civil penalties of up to £60,000 per breach, operational disruption, and reputational harm.
To stay ahead of enforcement, businesses must strengthen their onboarding processes, implement robust verification controls, and maintain compliant records.
Implications of the 2025 Act for Gig Economy and Platform Operators
Previously, the statutory right‑to‑work regime focused primarily on traditional employer‑employee relationships. The 2025 Act significantly broadens this scope, capturing:
- Gig‑economy and digital platform operators
- Labour‑matching and intermediary services
- Subcontractor supply chains
- Companies assigning, facilitating, or enabling work
This means that right‑to‑work checks are no longer optional safeguards—they are mandatory compliance requirements for any business model involving distributed or flexible labour.
The Act received Royal Assent on 2 December 2025. Secondary legislation will introduce commencement dates and operational guidance throughout 2026–27. Early preparation is strongly recommended to avoid financial and operational risk.
Financial Exposure and Enforcement Risk
The updated civil penalty regime introduces substantial liabilities:
Up to £60,000 per illegal worker for repeat offences
When operating at scale, particularly in gig‑economy environments, cumulative penalties can be severe. Additional consequences may include:
- Reputational damage and adverse press coverage
- Suspension or deactivation of non‑compliant workers
- Potential criminal liability if illegal working is knowingly permitted
- Loss of commercial contracts requiring proof of immigration compliance
Establishing a statutory excuse is the only defence against civil penalties. This requires organisations to perform right‑to‑work checks correctly, consistently, and prior to engagement.
Five Key Actions to Safeguard Your Organisation
1. Conduct compliant right‑to‑work checks at onboarding
Checks must be completed before any individual performs paid or unpaid work. To ensure accuracy, scalability, and audit readiness, organisations should incorporate digital verification systems using Home Office‑certified Identity Service Providers (IDSPs).
Individuals cannot accept work until verification is complete. This supports the statutory excuse.
2. Conduct follow-up checks for time-limited permission
Right to work is not permanent in all cases. Businesses must monitor expiry dates and carry out repeat checks where permission is time-limited. Systems should track visa end dates, trigger re-verification, and suspend access where updated evidence is not provided.
3. Maintain Fully Compliant Records
The statutory excuse depends on retaining clear evidence of compliance. Keep secure records of:
- date of check
- method used (manual, online or IDSP)
- documents or digital confirmation
- outcome and any follow-up action
Records should be retained for the duration of the working relationship and for two years after it ends.
4. Ensure Staff Are Trained and Processes Are Consistent
All personnel involved in onboarding, operations or compliance should understand prescribed check requirements and internal controls. Clear procedures reduce the risk of errors, exceptions or non-compliant engagement.
5. Strengthen Compliance Across Subcontractor and Intermediary Chains
Where agencies, partners or subcontractors supply labour,businesses should ensure third parties operate compliant onboarding and verification processes and apply appropriate contractual controls to require adherence to immigration and illegal working requirements.
How The Infinity Group Can Help
Complying with the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 requires clear procedures, effective controls and ongoing due diligence. The Infinity Group provides an all-round compliance framework for platforms, intermediaries and subcontractor models.
As part of our commitment to preventing illegal working, we have applied compliant right-to-work checks across all working arrangements — including workers and subcontractors — even prior to the introduction of these extended legal requirements. This proactive approach aligns with Home Office guidance and ensures audit readiness ahead of legislative commencement.
Our support includes:
- compliance reviews and risk assessments
- automated onboarding and verification controls
- documented policies, procedures and staff training
- ongoing right-to-work monitoring and record retention
Partnering with The Infinity Group helps ensure compliance is maintained at every stage, from right-to-work verification through to payroll and reporting obligations.