The United Kingdom's gig economy, long a lifeline for new arrivals and those seeking flexible work, has found itself squarely in the crosshairs of a sweeping new government crackdown on illegal employment. On December 5, 2025, officials announced that around 60 delivery riders are facing deportation after being discovered working illegally—a move that marks a significant escalation in the country’s ongoing battle against unauthorized labor and migration.
This action stems from a coordinated national enforcement blitz led by the Home Office in November, which resulted in 171 arrests over just seven days. According to the Home Office, those detained included Chinese nationals working in a restaurant in Solihull, West Midlands, Bangladeshi and Indian delivery riders in Newham, east London, and Indian riders in Norwich, Norfolk. The targeted operations were not limited to major cities; villages and small towns were also swept up in the effort, underscoring the breadth of the campaign.
Video footage released by the Home Office showed the stark reality of these operations: officers escorting an arrested man into the back of an immigration enforcement van, another man being detained by his bicycle on the street, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood herself present at an operation in Streatham, south London. The visual message was unmistakable—no corner of the gig economy would be left unchecked.
The government has made no secret of its intentions. As Border Security Minister Alex Norris bluntly stated, “These results should send a clear message, if you are working illegally in this country, you will be arrested and removed.” His remarks, echoed in outlets like The Daily Mail and BBC News, reflect a hardening stance: “We are tightening the law to clamp down on illegal working in the delivery sector to root out this criminality from our communities.”
At the heart of this crackdown is a series of new legislative measures and reforms. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, which became law on December 3, 2025, closes what officials describe as a longstanding “loophole” that allowed casual, temporary, or subcontracted workers—common in the gig economy—to evade stringent right-to-work checks. Now, all workers, regardless of contract type, must prove their legal status. Employers who fail to conduct these checks face up to five years in prison, fines of £60,000 per illegal worker, and even the closure of their business.
The numbers highlight the scale of the problem and the government’s response. Home Office figures show there were 8,232 arrests of illegal workers in the year to September 2025—a staggering 63% increase from the previous year. Yet, as The Daily Mail pointed out, only about 1,050 of those arrested were ultimately deported, raising questions about the effectiveness and efficiency of the system.
The crackdown is not occurring in a vacuum. It follows months of mounting concern over newly arrived migrants, particularly those living in taxpayer-funded asylum hotels, who have been found working for takeaway companies in violation of a ban on paid employment during the first 12 months of their asylum process. Earlier in 2025, reports surfaced of Channel migrants securing work as fast food delivery riders within hours of landing in Britain, often by renting accounts from legitimate delivery workers via social media groups. This “illicit account sharing,” as described by the Home Office, has made it easier for unauthorized individuals to slip through the cracks.
In response, the government has ramped up collaboration with major food delivery firms such as Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats. Since July 2025, the Home Office has been sharing the locations of asylum hotels with these companies to monitor hotspots for illegal working. The companies themselves have pledged to increase randomised facial recognition checks to ensure that riders match the identities on their accounts. Deliveroo, for example, insists that all riders—both main account holders and substitutes—must verify their right to work documents during onboarding and before they can begin deliveries.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has taken a hands-on approach, launching a consultation in October 2025 to explore stricter requirements for food delivery apps to verify their riders’ right to work. “Illegal working creates an incentive for people attempting to arrive in this country illegally. No more,” Mahmood declared. “Those found to be illegally working in beauty salons, car washes and as delivery drivers will be arrested, detained and removed from this country. I will do whatever it takes to secure Britain’s borders.”
The government’s efforts extend beyond enforcement. The new law also introduces expanded right-to-work checks for gig economy workers and proposes that volunteering become compulsory for asylum seekers seeking permanent settlement—a move that has drawn sharp criticism from more than 300 charities, who labeled it “exploitation” in an open letter to the Home Secretary.
Meanwhile, the political debate around these measures remains heated. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans in September to introduce digital ID cards for right-to-work checks by 2029, reviving a controversial idea first floated by Tony Blair’s government. Critics from across the political spectrum—including Reform, the Tories, and the Liberal Democrats—have lambasted the proposal as a “cynical ploy” to placate public concerns without addressing deeper issues in the immigration system.
For their part, food delivery companies have been quick to stress their compliance and willingness to cooperate. Deliveroo stated that all riders must verify their right to work before they can ride, and Just Eat and Uber Eats have followed suit with similar assurances. Still, the government’s focus on technological solutions like facial recognition checks is a tacit admission that traditional enforcement alone may not be enough to stem the tide of illegal working in such a decentralized, fast-moving sector.
As the UK tightens its grip on the gig economy, the message from Westminster is clear: those who flout the rules—whether workers, employers, or platforms—will face serious consequences. Yet with only a fraction of those arrested ultimately deported, and with the gig economy’s demand for flexible labor showing no signs of abating, the challenge of balancing border security with economic reality remains as complex as ever.
The coming months will be a test for both the government and the gig economy giants as they navigate a new era of scrutiny, enforcement, and accountability. The stakes are high—not just for those facing deportation, but for the very future of work in modern Britain.
