Since 1 October 2026 the scheme reaches worker's contracts, individual subcontractors, platform workers and some supply chains. See whether it reaches you.
Right-to-work files for UK employers
The inspection-ready right-to-work file.
One record per person: the document copy, who checked, when, and which route — manual, Home Office online, or a registered DVSP. The dashboard shows what's due in the next 90 days. A weekly Monday email lists items due within 30 days, or within each document type's own reminder days. Workers upload through an emailed link, with a chase on day 1, day 3 and day 7. Download a worker pack or a site pack for CQC or UKVI.
Copy, checker, date and route. Next 90 days on the dashboard. Worker and site inspection packs.
Plans from £69/month. Sign in, then pay. No demo call.
Since 1 October 2026: the scheme reaches people on a worker's contract, individual subcontractors, and people supplied through online matching platforms. Extended liability also reaches labour supply chains, online matching services and contracts that allow substitution. If you use subcontractors, labour suppliers, platforms or substitution clauses, check whether this now reaches you.
The free file score asks what is already on one worker file.
Figures from GOV.UK
- £60,000. Civil penalty of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker. GOV.UK — Penalties for employing illegal workers
- £45,000. Starting point per illegal worker for a first breach in the code of practice. GOV.UK — Illegal working penalties
- 3,100 Skilled Worker sponsor licences were revoked in 2025, the highest yearly total since records began in 2012. Home Office sponsorship transparency data Table SC_01, Apr–Jun 2026 release (published 27 Aug 2026)
- 46% of the 145 respondents to one Home Office consultation question said they only checked direct employees. GOV.UK — government response, para 3.2
What's changing
The duty is wider. The file should be too.
Section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 has been in force since 1 October 2026.
Who the October change reaches
People on a worker's contract, individual subcontractors, and people supplied through an online matching platform. Upstream, extended liability reaches labour supply chains, online matching services, and contracts that allow substitution. Genuinely self-employed people who run their own business can fall outside. A label of self-employed, on its own, does not decide that. In a standard agency supply, the hirer need not repeat the check the agency has already carried out.
The numbers are public
GOV.UK says a civil penalty can be up to £60,000 per illegal worker. Those penalty levels are not new on 1 October; the wider scope is. In the code of practice the starting point is £45,000 for a first breach and £60,000 for a repeat. A record 3,100 Skilled Worker sponsor licences were revoked in 2025 (Home Office sponsorship data). These are GOV.UK figures, not our marketing.
Share codes replace expired BRPs
All biometric residence permits (BRPs) have now expired, and employers can no longer accept them as proof. Ask for a share code instead. An expired BRP may still be used for 24 months after the expiry date on the card, or until 31 December 2026, whichever comes first, but only to sign in and get a share code, create a UKVI account, or apply to extend. It is not proof of right to work. Vernx stores the share-code copy and the follow-up date.
The evidence trail for a labour supplier
Before work starts, an upstream business needs a written statement that its contract with the supplier covers six points: the supplier carries out the checks; no further subcontracting without written consent; a right to audit; enforcement provisions; those enforcement terms in the supplier's contract with the worker; and cooperation with Home Office investigations. It also needs systems to ensure the same individual is doing the work. A substitute is checked before they work.
Vernx stores the trail you build. Save the right-to-work wording from the contract and upload the contract PDF. Record subcontracting consent as yes or no, with a date and a note. Log each assurance check with the date, who checked, what was checked and the outcome. A supplier with no logged check inside your interval — 12 months unless you set another from 1 to 36 — is flagged overdue. Link each worker to the supplier. Mark a substitute, and the file stays labelled "check not yet recorded" until a check date is on it. Send the supplier a link and they can type check records: name, check type, dates and a note. You write the contract terms. Vernx keeps the record.
The cost of getting it wrong
A civil penalty can cost more than years of software.
A civil penalty can be up to £60,000 per illegal worker. Those amounts are long-standing. From 1 October 2026 the scheme reaches further. Vernx is the file you open afterwards: the copy, who checked, the date and the route.
- First breach. Starting point per illegal worker in the code of practice. £45,000.
- Repeat breach. Starting point per illegal worker, repeat breach within 3 years. GOV.UK: up to £60,000 per worker. £60,000.
- Criminal offence. Prison and an unlimited fine for employing someone you knew, or had reasonable cause to believe, did not have the right to work. Up to 5 yrs.
Who it's for
Built for high-turnover UK employers.
Care, hospitality, construction, staffing and sponsor-licence holders, where the team turns over and the file has to stay findable.
- Adult social care. High turnover, agency cover and sponsored staff. Each person's copy, checker and follow-up date in one file, with a site pack when CQC visits.
- Hospitality & retail. Seasonal and part-time teams. The same file when the duty manager changes and the rota does not stop.
- Construction & labour supply. Subcontractors, labour suppliers and substitution clauses. List who is on site, link them to the supplier, and keep the copy with the check record.
- Recruitment & staffing. A file per placement, and an inspection pack you can send to a client. Where you are the direct employer, this is the file you keep.
- Sponsor-licence holders. Optional CoS number and contact fields, absence and pay clocks, and a log of your sponsor-register checks, so Appendix D notes are not only in a spreadsheet.
The platform
Everything the visit asks for, in one file.
The copy, who checked, the dates, and a pack if CQC or UKVI asks. Optional DBS log and sponsor clocks live on the same record. For a labour supplier, store the contract terms you rely on, consent to subcontract, and dated assurance checks.
- One record per worker. Direct staff, agency placements, contractors and platform workers. The copy sits with the route you used: manual, online or DVSP.
- Check recorded. Who checked, the date, and the route. That line is what an inspector asks to see next to the copy.
- Dates that surface early. Add your own document types, such as CSCS, SIA or food hygiene, with expiry dates. The dashboard shows what's due in the next 90 days. A weekly Monday email lists items due within 30 days, or within each document type's own reminder days.
- Pack for the visit. Worker zip and site zip: copies, the recorded check, the optional DBS log, absence and pay clocks, and your sponsor-register check log. Vernx links to the GOV.UK register; you record what you found.
- Sponsors and leavers. Absence over 10 working days, unpaid absence over 4 weeks, and pay below the CoS figure start a clock. You tick when you have reported it.
- The worker sends the copy. Email a personal link. They upload the photo and the expiry, with no app and no login. If nothing comes back, Vernx emails a chase on day 1, day 3 and day 7.
Pricing
Sign in, then pay. No call required.
Same product on every plan. You pay for how many workers. Admin seats are unlimited on every plan. Each plan keeps the copy, the recorded check and the dates. The dashboard shows what's due in the next 90 days. A weekly Monday email lists items due within 30 days, or within each document type's own reminder days. No VAT charged. Cancel anytime. No refunds; access runs to the end of the period you've paid for.
- Starter £69/month for 25 workers. Unlimited admin seats.
- Pro £99/month for 100 workers. Unlimited admin seats.
- Business £249/month for 500 workers. Unlimited admin seats.
Annual, 2 months free: Starter £690 a year (£57.50/month), Pro £990 a year (£82.50/month), Business £2,490 a year (£207.50/month).
One-off file review — £1,500, no VAT charged. Not a monthly plan.
No VAT charged. Cancel anytime. No refunds; access runs to the end of the period you've paid for. We never certify right-to-work.
Security
A file your team can find.
- Encrypted in transit. Files travel over TLS and sit in a private bucket. Each workspace is isolated so one customer cannot read another.
- Identity documents stay sensitive. Worker identity documents are treated as sensitive personal data. People you give access to that workspace are the ones who can open them.
- A named checker on the file. Who checked, the date and the route stay with the copy: manual, Home Office online, or a registered DVSP.
- Dates before they pass. The dashboard shows what's due in the next 90 days. A weekly Monday email lists items due within 30 days, or within each document type's own reminder days. A chase goes on day 1, day 3 and day 7 when an upload link goes quiet.
FAQ
Straight answers
Is Vernx legal advice?
No. Vernx keeps the file: the copies, the check you recorded, expiry dates and chase emails. Where a case needs immigration advice, speak to an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA, formerly OISC) or a solicitor.
Do you carry out the right-to-work check?
You carry out the check: a manual document check, a Home Office online check, or a check through a registered right to work digital verification service (DVSP). Vernx holds the copy, who checked, the date, the route and the reminder. Vernx records your check; it doesn't perform the Home Office right-to-work check or give legal advice. Vernx is not a digital verification service, and a stored file is not a statutory excuse.
Who do the 1 October 2026 changes reach?
People engaged on a worker's contract, individual subcontractors, and people supplied through an online matching (gig) platform. Extended liability also reaches labour supply chains, online matching services, and contracts that allow substitution. If you use subcontractors, labour suppliers, platforms or substitution clauses, check whether this now reaches you. Genuinely self-employed people running their own business can fall outside, and in a standard agency supply the hirer need not repeat the check.
Do the 1 October 2026 changes apply to contracts already in place?
Annex C of the Home Office Employer's guide (1 October 2026, page 77) says the measures are not intended to be retrospective. The relevant date is when the contractual arrangement is entered into, not when the work starts or continues. An arrangement entered into before 1 October 2026 is not brought within scope solely because the work or services continue afterwards.
We already use the free Home Office checking service. Why Vernx?
Keep using the Home Office service for the check. It does one person at a time. Vernx keeps every worker's copy, who checked and which route, chases a quiet upload link on day 1, day 3 and day 7, shows on the dashboard what is due in the next 90 days, sends a weekly Monday email listing items due within 30 days or within each document type's own reminder days, and downloads a pack when someone visits.
How long does it take to get set up?
Sign in, add workers and upload the files you already have. Start with whatever is scattered across phones and shared drives. The free file score is four questions on one worker file.
What happens if the Home Office or CQC asks for evidence?
You download the inspection pack: copies, the check recorded on each file, dates, and the DBS log and sponsor clocks if you use them. That is the file you hand over.
How much does Vernx cost?
Plans start from £69/month. Sign in first, then pay securely. No call required.
How does a worker send a document?
You email them a personal link. They open that page and upload there, with no app and no login. If nothing comes back, Vernx emails a chase on day 1, day 3 and day 7.
What can I record for a labour supplier?
The right-to-work wording from your contract, and the contract PDF if you upload one. Subcontracting consent as yes or no, with a date and a note. Each assurance check: the date, who checked, what was checked and the outcome. Vernx flags a supplier overdue when no check is logged within 12 months, or within another interval you set from 1 to 36 months. Workers linked to that supplier. A substitute stays marked "check not yet recorded" until a check date is on the file. A link lets the supplier type check records: name, check type, dates and a note. You write the contract terms. Vernx stores the trail.
See whether one worker file would open cleanly
Four questions, or sign in and pick a plan from £69/month. No call. Pay after your workspace exists.
Free file score
Four questions. No upload. It scores what is already on one worker file.
- Do you hold a copy of the check (passport scan or share-code result)?
- Is the name of the person who checked written on the file?
- Is the date of the check written on the file?
- If they are sponsored, is current pay still at or above the CoS figure?
Pricing · Free file score · Right to work file self-check · Share code check · Acceptable documents · Follow-up date calculator · Supplier right-to-work checklist · 1 October 2026 guide · File review · Sample inspection pack · Who holds the file · Solicitors and agencies