MP urges takeaway firms to give rider data to Government amid ‘rampant’ abuse

Food delivery firms should tell the Government who their riders and drivers are, amid fears of “rampant” visa abuse, a Conservative MP has said.

Nick Timothy accused food delivery companies of a “dereliction of duty”, when they let self-employed riders use “substitute” couriers.

Deliveroo and Uber Eats are among the firms that have self-employed couriers who can get others to deliver on their behalf, and the riders must ensure their subcontractors have proof of right to work.

Both companies have introduced registration schemes to check directly whether substitutes have the right to work in the UK, and a Deliveroo spokesperson said the platform is “taking action to secure our platform against illegal working”.

Mr Timothy tabled an amendment to the Government’s Employment Rights Bill, which would make food, drink and postal delivery bosses supply the Government with details of their rider register every year.

If it is adopted, Mr Timothy’s proposal would also apply to taxi-style companies with more than 250 employees.

The MP for West Suffolk said his amendment aimed to tackle the “wrongful use of substitution clauses by gig economy workers”.

He told the Commons: “This will help ensure employment rights are upheld and pay is not suppressed through illegitimate competition, but it will also support the enforcement of right to work checks.

“Unlawful employment of migrants with no right to work here is not good for taxpayers, British workers, or migrants who follow the rules, and yet substitution clauses allow what have become known as ‘Deliveroo visas’ – industrial-scale abuse of our immigration and labour laws.”

Mr Timothy criticised “rampant labour market and visa abuse and fraud committed by contractors related to these companies”, adding: “It is a dereliction of duty to pass the responsibility of compliance with criminal and right to work checks onto these workers.

“But these companies clearly have an interest in maintaining a status quo where undocumented migrants are taking the lowest fees in the delivery apps.”

He told MPs that “companies are privatising profits and socialising the cost” and referred to a Home Office illegal working crackdown in April 2023, when 60 moped delivery drivers were arrested in London and southern England.

Business minister Justin Madders said in response: “We are aware of the risks and we have been working closely with the minister for border security (Dame Angela Eagle) on illegal working by irregular migrants in the gig economy, and the role that substitution clauses play in facilitating that.

“We will continue to work closely with the Home Office on this issue.”

A Deliveroo spokesperson said: “Deliveroo has led the industry in taking action to secure our platform against illegal working.

“We were the first to roll out direct right to work checks, a registration process, daily identity verification and now additional device checks for riders, including substitutes.

“We take our responsibilities extremely seriously and continue to strengthen our controls to prevent misuse of our platform.”

Uber has been contacted for comment.