Illegal Work Among Asylum Seekers: Food Delivery Apps Under Fire!

The UK government is set to convene talks with major food delivery companies next week in light of alarming reports suggesting that some asylum seekers are working illegally as couriers shortly after their arrival in the UK. This follows an investigation by The Sun, which revealed that Channel migrants have been renting out delivery accounts from existing riders through social media, enabling them to earn up to £1,000 a week.

Asylum seekers are prohibited from working in the UK for the first 12 months of their stay or until their asylum applications are approved. Following these revelations, Downing Street emphasized the importance of tackling what it labeled a ’racket,’ with a spokesman declaring that the government would not tolerate such practices.

Food delivery services like Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats assert that they have stringent checks to ensure that only those with the legal right to work in the UK are permitted on their platforms. However, reports indicate that illegal practices persist, as some individuals have been circumventing the rules by sub-letting accounts for as little as £40 a week.

Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, reported seeing clear evidence of this illegal work during a visit to an asylum hotel in London. He criticized the Labour government for allowing such practices to occur under their oversight, claiming it undercut honest businesses and local wages.

In response, Just Eat has stated that they are actively enhancing their approach with measures such as facial recognition for verification and updated protocols to monitor substitute couriers. Deliveroo echoed these sentiments, asserting a zero-tolerance policy for misuse of their platform. Uber Eats has also implemented new detection technologies to minimize the incidence of illegal work among its couriers.

Additionally, challenges persist in addressing the broader immigration issues, as the UK’s independent inspector of borders and immigration cast doubts on the government’s target to end the use of asylum hotels before the next election. The inspector, David Bolt, noted that the goal is unrealistic, highlighting the complexity of the current asylum backlog and the rising number of appeals as refusals increase. In response, No 10 emphasized the necessity of building 1.5 million new homes to aid in resolving the housing crisis for asylum seekers and reiterated their commitment to ending the use of asylum hotels by the conclusion of the current parliament.