New rules for UK Uber Eats and Deliveroo drivers from 1 October
Key Points
- New Right to Work checks become mandatory for gig economy employers from 1 October
- Fines reach £60,000 per illegal worker, with up to five years in prison
- Reform sits alongside new refugee sponsorship routes announced on 30 June
- Community and university sponsorship applications open Autumn 2026
- First sponsored arrivals expected Autumn 2027; employer route to follow
Gig economy employers who hire illegal workers as food delivery drivers or construction workers will face fines of up to £60,000 per worker, or up to five years in prison, from 1 October.
Businesses in the sector will also be legally required to carry out Right to Work checks, extending obligations that already apply to conventional employers into the platform and gig workforce for the first time.
The tougher enforcement lands as the government pushes a wider immigration overhaul that pairs a crackdown on illegal working with new legal routes for refugees, announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Tuesday (30 June).
What changes for gig economy employers
From 1 October, firms engaging workers through gig and platform arrangements must verify that those workers have the right to work in the UK. Employers found using illegal labour face civil penalties of up to £60,000 for each worker, alongside criminal liability carrying a maximum sentence of five years.
The change closes a gap that had allowed some delivery and construction operators to sidestep checks by treating workers as self-employed contractors rather than direct employees.
New legal routes at the centre of the overhaul
Britain’s new refugee sponsorship scheme will let approved community groups, universities and eventually employers take direct responsibility for resettling refugees, with applications opening this autumn and the first arrivals due in Autumn 2027.
The scheme sits at the centre of the government’s new safe and legal routes, which Mahmood framed as the counterpart to tighter enforcement.
The Home Office will work with accredited “lead sponsors” to run the scheme. These must be organisations rather than individuals, and the department will retain full control over who qualifies. Three routes are planned:
The named community sponsorship model will operate outside the existing UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) and at a much higher capacity once established. Currently, only a small number of refugees are sponsored in communities under the UKRS, with most supported by councils.
Every arrival will be subject to strict biometric, criminality and health checks. Refugee status will be determined in partnership with the UNHCR, which the Home Office said would ensure the routes can be launched and managed effectively.
The Home Office said numbers would start small and scale up over time as public confidence in the immigration system is restored.
