Since the end of the Brexit transition period, the rules around employing non-UK nationals on UK farms have changed significantly. Most of the regular questions we hear from farm owners come down to three things: what exactly am I responsible for, what does LKL handle, and what happens if I get it wrong.
What Right to Work actually means
Every employer in the UK — whether you're hiring direct or through an agency — has a legal duty to check that anyone working on the farm has the right to work here. The Home Office imposes civil penalties of up to £60,000 per illegal worker for employers who don't have the proper checks on file.
For British and Irish citizens, the check is usually a passport or a birth certificate plus a National Insurance number. For everyone else, it's more involved.
EU settled status and share codes
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who were living in the UK before 31 December 2020 should hold either Settled Status or Pre-Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
These don't come with a physical document. Instead, the worker generates a share code from the gov.uk 'prove your right to work' service, which you then verify online. The check gives you a time-stamped confirmation that you keep on file.
Skilled Worker visas and sponsor licences
For workers from outside the EU, or for EU nationals who moved to the UK after January 2021, a Skilled Worker visa is now the usual route. This requires the employing farm to hold a Home Office sponsor licence, which is a significant process in its own right.
Most family-run farms don't hold one. If you're placing a worker through LKL, we deal with the sponsorship side where applicable — it's one of the reasons farms stay with us rather than recruit internationally themselves.
What LKL checks before placement
Every worker on our books has their Right to Work documents verified at registration. We hold copies of their share code confirmations, visas where relevant, and passport pages. If we've placed someone on your farm, the check has already been done.
What you still need to keep
On the farm side, you should keep: a dated copy of the share code confirmation or document, a note of the person's start date, and a record that the check was completed. If the worker has time-limited leave to remain, set a calendar reminder to re-check before the expiry.
Common mistakes
The three we see most often: keeping only the worker's passport without the share code confirmation; missing the expiry-date re-check on pre-settled status; and assuming an agency has done the check without having the paperwork in your own file.
If you'd rather not worry about it
Most farms find the Right to Work check is the single piece of admin they're least comfortable doing themselves. It's exactly the kind of thing LKL was set up to handle — and it's part of the service, not an extra.
Talk to LKL
Every placement we make is briefed in person by a regional manager. If this article raised a question you’d like to talk through, we’re a phone call away.