Use the version of the Home Office guidance in force for the check you are conducting. The current employer guide was updated on 1 October 2026; a checklist written earlier in the year may use outdated terms or scope.
Review the applicable working arrangement
The October employer guide explains responsibility across relevant contractual arrangements, including specified situations beyond a direct contractual employer. Review the actual arrangement and guidance before allocating responsibility.
The extended liability applies to relevant arrangements entered into from 1 October 2026. An existing arrangement merely continuing after that date is not the same as entering into a new arrangement. Review the agreement and any later changes against the guidance's scope.
This does not create an automatic rule that every agency placement requires two identical right-to-work checks or incurs two penalties. Our agency-worker guide explains the distinction between the responsible party's check and a hirer's placement evidence.
Keep the check method current
The guidance distinguishes manual checks, the online service, eligible digital right-to-work verification and the Employer Checking Service. Use the route available for the person's circumstances, inspect the required result and retain evidence of the employer's action.
A physical biometric residence permit is not an acceptable substitute for an online right-to-work result. British and Irish citizens have their own acceptable-document routes; they are not all expected to produce immigration share codes. Match the method to the evidence rather than requiring one method from everyone.
Correct older assumptions in the checklist
The higher civil penalty maxima took effect on 13 February 2024, not January 2026. The penalty guide explains why a missing record is different from a finding of illegal working.
EUSS settled and pre-settled status do not require repeat employment checks under the current guidance. Other time-limited cases and verification notices need appropriate follow-up rules. The Fair Work Agency's labour-market remit is separate from Home Office illegal-working enforcement.
Give each unresolved record an owner and next action. Certifyd's records view supports that review, while the responsible organisation performs the prescribed checks and decisions.