29th October 2026 | Hudson Contract
Hudson has checked nearly 50,000 self-employed operatives under the government’s new Right to Work rules, building the largest base of verified labour in the construction industry.
The tough new rules came into force on 1 October with fines of up to £60,000 per head for companies that fall foul of the legislation. Where firms knowingly use illegal workers, they face criminal convictions and prison sentences of up to five years.
The Home Office has identified construction as “a high-risk” sector. It has warned that major contractors and housebuilders could be held liable for illegal working in their supply chains even if they have no direct contract with the operatives involved.
Hudson managing director Ian Anfield said: “The new rules have brought an extra level of complexity and potential delay in deploying a self-employed workforce, and construction has undoubtedly been one of the hardest hit sectors.
“We’ve worked to minimise this by investing in digital checks approved by the Home Office. Subbies can be verified quickly, backed up with an imposter check before they start work.
“Once an operative has been checked by Hudson, they are added to our database, which is now nearly 50,000 and growing. As subbies leave, return and move between sites, under current rules, they won’t need checking again.
“A lot of contractors are still unaware of the risk or believe ID checks have them covered. The Right to Work checks we have carried out have shown that, while the proportion is relatively small, a significant number of operatives did not qualify under the new rules and had to leave sites.
“If there is any doubt about how seriously the Home Office will be exercising its new powers, with the ink yet to dry, a large civils company had two of its sites raided by enforcement officials.
"Thankfully, all of those on site had been checked by Hudson so they received a clean bill of health. Without Hudson's checks, the company, and the main contractor above it, would have faced huge financial and reputational risk.”
Is your supply chain covered? To find out how Hudson can help your business comply with the new extended liability rules, call 0800 054 1127 or send us a message.
