UK partners with Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats to crack down on illegal riders and asylum hotels
More delivery riders caught sharing their accounts with migrants who have no right to work in the UK will be suspended, as part of a new UK-wide crackdown on illegal working.
A new agreement between the Home Office and Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats will ensure delivery firms receive new information concerning the locations of asylum hotels to help tackle illegal working, the Home Office said on Wednesday (23 July).
Under existing security measures, any delivery riders caught sharing their accounts with migrants who have no right to work in the UK will be suspended. This new agreement goes further to ensure more people who are breaking the rules can be caught.
Efforts by the companies to crack down on illegal account sharing through real-time identity and Right to Work checks have been successful and have led to thousands being offboarded from platforms.
Despite this, there continues to be abuse in the system. Under the new agreement, the firms will be empowered to go further in detecting patterns of misuse, identify unauthorised account sharing and quickly suspend accounts.
The move comes after a commitment made by the firms during a roundtable last month, chaired by Ministers, to implement new security measures. This includes increased facial verification checks and fraud detection tools meaning only verified users can access their platforms.
The Home Office said it will continue to collaborate closely with the three companies, with meetings taking place in the coming weeks to update on progress and delivery.
“Illegal working undermines honest business, exploits vulnerable individuals and fuels organised immigration crime,” said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
“By enhancing our data sharing with delivery companies, we are taking decisive action to close loopholes and increase enforcement,” she said.
Cooper added that the changes come alongside a 50% increase in raids and arrests for illegal working under the government’s Plan for Change, as well as greater security measures and tough new legislation.
