New Right-to-work Rules And Safety Levy Hit Construction Today

Sweeping new right-to-work rules come into force today forcing construction firms to check self-employed workers as part of a fresh crackdown on illegal migrant labour and rogue employers.

Contractors hiring individual workers must now confirm they are legally entitled to work in the UK, bringing self-employed and non-standard labour much closer to the checks already required for employees.

Until now, statutory right-to-work checks have largely applied to people classed as employees.

New extended liability provisions mean main contractors could potentially face penalties where illegal workers are found lower down a contracting chain and the required contractual safeguards have not been put in place.

That is expected to force contractors to tighten subcontract conditions, labour onboarding and checks on who is actually turning up on site.

Firms will need clear records showing who carried out the right-to-work check, when it was completed and that the person arriving for work is the individual who was cleared.

Home Office guidance points to site passes, attendance systems, biometrics and regular identity checks as possible controls.

The Government has power to impose severe penalties for firms failing to comply.

Businesses employing illegal workers without the required protection face civil penalties of up to £60,000 per worker.

Serious cases can also lead to business closures, director bans, unlimited fines and prison sentences of up to five years.

Building safety levy

A new building safety levy adding another cost to major housing and student schemes also comes into force across England today.

Developers submitting building control applications from 1 October will be liable for the charge on schemes of 10 or more homes and purpose-built student accommodation developments of 30 or more bedspaces.

The levy is expected to raise around £3.4bn over roughly 10 years to help fund the remediation of unsafe residential buildings.

Charges are calculated on a £/sq m basis, with rates varying between local authority areas to reflect property and land values.

Brownfield developments receive a 50% discount.

A 10,000 sq m residential development would attract a levy of around £284,000 in Manchester, £292,000 in Birmingham and £612,000 in London’s Tower Hamlets.

Affordable housing and a range of community and specialist accommodation are exempt, while developments below the 10-home or 30-bed threshold escape the charge.

The levy applies to building control applications submitted from today, meaning schemes already in the system before 1 October are protected from the new charge.