More delivery riders caught sharing their accounts with migrants who have no right to work in the UK will be suspended, as part of the government’s UK-wide crackdown on illegal working under the Plan for Change.

A new agreement between the Home Office and Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats will ensure delivery firms receive new information concerning the locations of asylum hotels to help tackle illegal working.

Under existing security measures, any delivery riders caught sharing their accounts with migrants who have no right to work in the UK will be suspended. This new agreement goes further to ensure more people who are breaking the rules can be caught.

Efforts by the companies to crack down on illegal account sharing through real-time identity and Right to Work checks have been successful and have led to thousands being offboarded from platforms. Despite this, there continues to be abuse in the system. Under the new agreement, the firms will be empowered to go further in detecting patterns of misuse, identify unauthorised account sharing and quickly suspend accounts.

The move comes after a commitment made by the firms during a roundtable last month, chaired by Ministers, to implement new security measures. This includes increased facial verification checks and fraud detection tools meaning only verified users can access their platforms. The Home Office will continue to collaborate closely with the three companies, with meetings taking place in the coming weeks to update on progress and delivery.

Today’s announcement is part of the government’s work to step up enforcement across the UK targeting illegal working hotspots, with a focus on the gig economy and migrants working illegally as delivery riders. It forms a key part of a whole system approach to tackle illegal migration from every angle, by ending the false promise of jobs used by smuggling gangs to sell spaces on small boats.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, said:

Illegal working undermines honest business, exploits vulnerable individuals and fuels organised immigration crime.

By enhancing our data sharing with delivery companies, we are taking decisive action to close loopholes and increase enforcement.

The changes come alongside a 50% increase in raids and arrests for illegal working under the Plan for Change, greater security measures and tough new legislation.

Eddy Montgomery, Director of Enforcement, Compliance and Crime at the Home Office, said:

This next step of co-ordinated working with delivery firms will help us target those who seek to work illegally in the gig economy and exploit their status in the UK.

My teams will continue to carry out increased enforcement activity across the UK and I welcome this additional tool to disrupt and stop the abuse of our immigration system.

A Deliveroo spokesperson said:

Deliveroo has led the sector in introducing security measures to prevent the abuse of our platform and tackle the sophisticated criminals seeking new ways to exploit all delivery platforms’ systems. We are fully committed to working with the government as we continue to collectively combat illegal working.

A Just Eat spokesperson said:

Just Eat is committed to tackling any illegal working via our platform. We continue to invest significant resources to strengthen our systems against abuse by individuals and organised criminal groups seeking to evade right to work rules. We are working closely with the Home Office and our industry partners to address any loopholes in the industry’s checks, as well as collaborating on data sharing and enforcement.

An Uber Eats spokesperson said:

Uber Eats is fully committed to tackling illegal work and will continue to work with the Home Office and industry. We have introduced a range of state of the art detection tools to find and remove fraudulent accounts. We are constantly reviewing our tools and finding new ways to detect and take action on people who are trying to work illegally.

Since the government came into power one year ago, there have been more than 10,000 illegal working visits across multiple sectors, leading to 7,130 arrests, up around 50% compared to the year before. This marks the first time in a 12-month period where more than 10,000 visits have taken place.

Almost 750 illegal working civil penalty notices were also handed to businesses caught violating immigration rules in the first quarter of the year, marking the highest level since 2016 – and an 80% increase compared to the same time last year.

The government is tightening the law by making it a legal requirement for all companies, including the gig economy, to check that anyone working for them has the legal right to do so. This will end the abuse of flexible working arrangements. The new measures will be introduced through the landmark Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.

The fight against illegal working forms just one part of government’s work to bolster border security across the system.

Since coming into power one year ago, the government has returned 35,000 people with no right to be in the UK including failed asylum seekers, immigration and foreign national offenders. There are now fewer asylum hotels open than since the election, saving millions of taxpayers’ money.

This is on top of a new groundbreaking deal with the French which will mean that, for the very first time, illegal migrants will be sent back to France. This targets the heart of the criminal smuggling gangs’ business model and sends a clear message that these life-threatening journeys are pointless and a waste of thousands of pounds.

The deal seeks to detain and return migrants who arrive via small boat, and an equal number of migrants will be able to come to the UK from France through a new legal route – fully documented and subject to strict security checks.