New laws have recently been passed relating to immigration, which largely see the UK government stepping up the enforcement of the UK’s right to work rules.
The new bill, entitled the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act was passed in December 2025, according to the Gov.UK website.
What does this involve?
The new rules, which are considerably more stringent than before, mean that employers must now check that absolutely everyone they hire is legally allowed to work in the UK. Unlike before, this will now include temporary, casual and occasional gig workers, not just those employees who work a standard contract type.
Any businesses found to be flouting the new laws are liable for a fine of up to £60,000. Penalties are the same for both large and small businesses, so the onus is on small businesses to ensure compliance to avoid a hefty fine.
As you’d expect, compliance is extremely important when it comes to adhering to new laws of this type. If your business feels less than prepared for this new set of rules, compliance elearning as offered by specialists such as www.adempi.co.uk/elearning may well help your business – and your staff – feel confident in this key area.
How will this be enforced?
These new laws pertaining to immigration coincide with the introduction of Digital ID for new arrivals into the UK. As part of this process, checks on digital IDs are going to become ever more important, since manual checks alone may not be sufficient going forward.
