Can a US Citizen work whilst travelling in UK?

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Working on a Standard Visitor Visa

You can't do paid nor unpaid work on a UK Standard Visitor visa.

You can’t:

do paid or unpaid work

live in the UK for long periods of time through frequent visits

get public funds

marry or register a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership

Working in the UK

To work in the UK you'll have to apply for the appropriate Work Visa. There are some exceptions to this for US citizens coming into the UK for less than 6 months with the purpose of working, provided:

You don’t need a visa if you’re coming to the UK for activities allowed under the following visas:

a Standard Visitor visa - eg if you’re coming to the UK for conferences, meetings, training, academic research or a sabbatical

a ‘permitted paid engagement’ (you must have been invited to the UK because of your expertise) - you can only stay for up to 1 month

However, you should bring supporting documents to show at the border.