Every year the same thing happens. Contracts for retail security, event cover, warehouse shifts, and extra cleaning land in October and November, and suddenly you need dozens of extra people in a hurry. The pressure to get them on site is real. But a temporary worker hired for three weeks needs exactly the same right to work check as a permanent employee, and in security roles the screening and licensing rules don’t take a Christmas break either.
The good news is that doing it properly doesn’t have to slow you down. In this guide I’ll cover the right to work rules as they stand in the Home Office’s latest guidance, what changed on 1 October 2026, how SIA licence checks fit in, and where BS 7858 screening comes into it for security staff.
Why right to work checks matter even for a three-week contract
The Home Office’s Employer’s guide to right to work checks (the current version is dated 1 October 2026) is clear that, to have a statutory excuse, checks must be done before the person starts work. There’s no grace period for temporary, seasonal, or casual staff.
If you get it wrong, the consequences are serious. Gov.uk says you could face a “civil penalty (fine) of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker” if you employ someone without the right to work and you didn’t carry out the correct checks, or didn’t carry them out properly. The Home Office code of practice sets a starting point of £45,000 per worker for a first breach and £60,000 for a repeat breach, with reductions available in some circumstances. And if you knew, or had “reasonable cause to believe”, that someone wasn’t allowed to work, gov.uk says you can be sent to jail for five years and pay an unlimited fine.
Ten seasonal workers hired without proper checks could therefore put a six-figure penalty on the table. That’s a risk no small business should carry for a Christmas contract.
What a statutory excuse is and why you want one
The Home Office describes a statutory excuse as “an employer’s defence against liability for payment of a civil penalty”. You get it by doing the prescribed checks before work starts and, where the person has time-limited permission, doing follow-up checks at the right time.
In other words, a properly completed and recorded check is your protection. If it turns out later that a worker didn’t have the right to work, but you did the check correctly, you have a defence. If you skipped a step, you don’t.
The ways to check right to work
The employer’s guide sets out three ways to do a check, and you must do one of them before the worker starts.
A manual document-based check means obtaining original documents from the Home Office’s acceptable lists, checking they’re valid while you have the originals, checking the person is the rightful holder, making a clear copy, and recording the date you did the check. You need the original documents in your physical possession, although you can carry out the check with the person over a live video call.
A Home Office online check uses a share code that the worker generates. Share codes start with “W”, are nine characters long, and are valid for 90 days. You enter the code and the person’s date of birth into the official service yourself (simply looking at what the worker shows you isn’t enough), check the photograph matches the person, and keep a copy of the profile page. People with an eVisa can only prove their right to work this way.
A digital check through a certified digital verification service provider can be used for people with a British or Irish passport (including Irish passport cards). The guide says it isn’t mandatory to check digitally in this way, but if you do, the provider must be on the government’s register of certified providers.
Whichever method you use, keep the records for the duration of the person’s employment and for two years afterwards. Our earlier step-by-step right to work checks guide walks through each method in more detail.
What changed on 1 October 2026
This is the change that catches people out this Christmas. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 extended the right to work scheme beyond traditional employment. From 1 October 2026, the employer’s guide covers people working under a “worker’s contract”, individual sub-contractors, and online matching services, as well as employees.
For those new arrangements, the guide says a civil penalty “may only be imposed where the employment commenced on or after 1 October 2026”. So any casual worker, sub-contractor, or self-employed operative you bring in for the Christmas peak falls under the new rules from day one.
If you’ve historically treated casual or sub-contracted security officers as “not our problem” for right to work purposes, that needs to change now. Read the guidance carefully on who counts as the employer in agency and sub-contracting chains, because liability can depend on the facts.
SIA licence checks for security roles
If the temporary role is a licensable security role, a right to work check isn’t enough on its own. Gov.uk’s check a private security licence page says “you must check if someone has the correct security licence before hiring them for private security work”. You can search the SIA register using the person’s 16-digit licence number, or their surname plus other details such as date of birth and security role.
The penalty for getting this wrong is significant too. Gov.uk warns you “could be fined or sent to prison if you pay someone to work in security without the right SIA licence.”
The licence check and the right to work check are separate legal duties. Do both, record both, and check the licence is for the right activity. A common gap I see in audits is a file with a screenshot of the register but no date, or a licence check done months before the person was deployed.
Where BS 7858 screening fits in
For security staff, many clients and certification schemes expect screening to BS 7858:2019, the code of practice for screening individuals working in a secure environment. BSI lists the 2019 edition as current and describes it as detailing how to screen individuals who want to work in “secure” environments. It goes well beyond a right to work check, and in my experience the slowest part is always waiting for third parties to respond.
The challenge at Christmas is time. Screening depends on previous employers and other organisations replying, and that’s exactly when offices close for the holidays. If you’re planning to deploy screened staff in December, start the screening in October or early November, not the week before the contract starts.
Our BS 7858 screening guide for employers explains the process in plain English.
A practical checklist for peak season hiring
Here’s how I’d organise it to avoid delays:
- Build a simple pre-start pack: right to work, SIA licence (if relevant), screening consent, emergency contact, and bank details collected in one go.
- Ask candidates to generate a share code before interview if they’ll need an online check, so you’re not waiting on it.
- Book video or in-person document checks in batches rather than one at a time.
- Use one checklist for every worker, temporary or permanent, so nobody is treated differently. The Home Office expects employers to be consistent in how they conduct checks.
- Diary any follow-up checks for people with time-limited permission.
- Store every record so you can find it in two years’ time, not just next week.
- Start BS 7858 screening early and track each reference so nothing stalls over Christmas.
FAQs
Do temporary and seasonal staff need right to work checks?
Yes. To have a statutory excuse, the Home Office guidance says checks must be done before the worker starts, and it makes no exception for short contracts. From 1 October 2026 the scheme also covers worker’s contracts and individual sub-contractors.
What is the maximum fine for employing an illegal worker?
Gov.uk says employers can face a civil penalty of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker if they didn’t carry out correct checks. Employing someone you knew, or had reasonable cause to believe, didn’t have the right to work can lead to five years in prison and an unlimited fine.
Can I accept a photo of a passport sent by email?
No. For a manual check you must obtain the original documents and check them. For an online check you use the share code on the official service. A scan or photo on its own doesn’t give you a statutory excuse.
How long must I keep right to work records?
For the duration of the person’s employment and for two years afterwards, according to the Home Office employer’s guide.
Does an SIA licence prove someone has the right to work?
No. Checking the SIA register and checking right to work are separate duties. Do both before the person starts.
Is BS 7858:2019 still the current edition?
BSI lists BS 7858:2019 as the current edition of the code of practice for screening individuals working in a secure environment.
Get your Christmas staff checked and on site
If you need extra hands with screening this peak season, Screen My Staff carries out BS 7858 screening for £70 per SIA licence holder and £99 for non-SIA staff, so you can focus on running the contract. To keep right to work, licence, and screening records in one place with reminders for follow-up checks, take a look at Compliance Master.
For help with your recruitment procedures, ISO management system, or SIA ACS evidence, call CAW Consultancy on 01257 824481, email Craig@cawconsultancy.co.uk, or visit www.cawconsultancy.co.uk.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Right to work checks: an employer’s guide (1 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Code of practice on preventing illegal working: Right to Work Scheme for employers
- GOV.UK: Penalties for employing illegal workers
- GOV.UK: Check security staff have a licence to work
- BSI Knowledge: BS 7858:2019 Screening of individuals working in a secure environment. Code of practice
Craig Willetts is the founder of CAW Consultancy Business Solutions Ltd and a UK lead auditor with over 20 years’ experience across ISO management systems and UK security industry schemes.
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