UK delivery riders renting their accounts to illegal workers
Key Points
- Government says gig account holders rent accounts to people without the right to work
- Department warns of unvetted individuals arriving at customers’ doors
- Right to work checks now cover gig platforms and substitutes
- Weaker substitution rules aim to make illegal working harder
The government has warned that some gig economy workers rent their delivery accounts to people without the right to work in the UK.
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade raised the issue in its employment status consultation, published on Wednesday (14 October).
The department said substitution clauses, which let a worker send someone else in their place, give organisations less control over who actually does the work.
It described the problem as particularly prevalent in the gig economy, where account holders have rented accounts to people without the right to work.
The government warned that the practice leaves people vulnerable to exploitation, pushes down wages and undercuts businesses that check their workforce properly.
It also flagged a public safety risk, with individuals turning up at members of the public’s doors unchecked and unvetted.
Right to work checks
The government has already extended right to work check requirements to firms that engage limb (b) workers or individual sub-contractors, including gig economy platforms.
Those checks will also cover anyone working as a substitute for an account holder.
The department said its plan to reduce the weight of personal service in employment law should cut businesses’ incentive to use broad substitution clauses.
According to the department, fewer substitution arrangements would make illegal working harder and weaken one draw for people coming to the UK illegally.
The department also said a proposed written statement for self-employed contracts would create a record that enforcement officers could use when investigating right to work compliance.
The Fair Work Agency, which began operating in April 2026, can enter workplaces, demand documents and publicly name non-compliant employers.
The department described tackling illegal migration, including illegal working, as a key priority for the government.
