The government has recently intensified efforts to combat illegal working practices and hold rogue employers accountable within the gig economy. A significant development is the extension of legal requirements for right-to-work checks to companies employing gig economy and zero-hours contract workers. Previously, such checks were mandatory primarily for traditional employment roles, but this expansion aims to ensure that all workers, regardless of their employment type, have the legal right to work in the UK.
Any company hiring people in the gig economy will now be under a legal obligation to carry out checks confirming that anyone working in their name is eligible to work in the UK. This move will bring them in line with other employers. These vital checks, which take just minutes to complete, confirm someone’s immigration status and allow them to legally work in the UK.
This means that for the very first time, employment checks will be extended to cover businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors like construction, food delivery, beauty salons and courier services.
Companies like Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats have committed to enhancing security measures by implementing additional right-to-work checks on their platforms to prevent illegal working. These measures include random selfie requests to verify couriers' identities during deliveries.
Currently, thousands of companies using these flexible arrangements are not legally required to check the status of these workers. This will now need to change. Where businesses fail to carry out these checks, they will face hefty penalties already in place for those hiring illegal workers in traditional roles, including fines of up to £60,000 per worker, business closures, director disqualifications and potential prison sentences of up to 5 years.
Expanding illegal working checks will help level the playing field for the majority of honest companies who do the right thing. For example, Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats already voluntarily carry out checks to ensure their delivery riders are eligible to work.
The government's initiative is part of a broader strategy to strengthen the immigration system and address illegal working practices across various sectors. By extending right-to-work checks to encompass gig economy and zero-hours workers, the government aims to create a more robust and fair labour market, ensuring that all workers are legally employed and protected under UK law. The measures will help ensure the Home Office maintains close contact with individuals and makes it very clear that they should not become established in the UK, as the intention remains to remove them when possible.
