Illegal migrants are abusing “legal loopholes” to work for some of Britain’s biggest delivery firms, MPs have been told. Former Home Office adviser and Downing Street chief of staff Nick Timothy, now a Conservative MP, warned takeaway apps Just Eat and Deliveroo, taxi service Uber, and Amazon have all been linked to “rampant labour market fraud and visa abuse committed by contractors”.
Migrants are “renting rider accounts” for as little as £70 a week through a loophole known as substitution clauses, he said. This allows people to reassign their deliveries to other people. And they are using messaging apps to share information and “evade Home Office immigration raids”, Mr Timothy warned.
The West Suffolk MP told parliamentarians: “There are 4.7million gig economy workers in the UK, including 120,000 official riders at Uber Eats and Deliveroo, two of the largest delivery companies in the country.
“For years we have heard stories of the rampant labour market fraud and visa abuse committed by contractors related to those companies.
“From late 2018 to early 2019, there were 14,000 fraudulent Uber journeys, according to Transport for London. In addition to Uber and Deliveroo, Amazon and Just Eat have been linked to labour market abuses.
“Much of that abuse has come through the legal loophole created by substitution clauses.”
He added: “Last month, Deliveroo sacked more than 100 riders who shared their accounts with illegal migrants. But that is only the tip of the iceberg: insurance companies report unauthorised riders involved in motor and personal injury cases.
“That is happening because undocumented migrants are renting rider accounts for between £70 and £100 a week.”
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.
Mr Timothy called for the directors of these companies to be held legally accountable for ensuring all riders and drivers “take responsibility for who works for them”.
Detailing how the scam works, Mr Timothy said: “Illegal migrants are using social media apps to rent accounts and share information on a significant scale.
“People working illegally for these big companies are working longer hours round the clock for lower fees, never knowing when their last payday might be.
“They use group chats to share information and evade Home Office immigration raids.
“We do not even know how many substitute riders there are for these companies at any given time.”
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.
Mr Timothy, a former Home Office advisor to Theresa May, said: “Amazon, Uber, Deliveroo and the rest would have to do their due diligence and, just like everyone else, ensure that all their riders are who they say they are and have the right to work in this country.
“Introducing such a change would reduce labour abuse, protect our communities and deliver a fairer labour market.”
Business minister Justin Madders said in response: “We are aware of the risks and we have been working closely with Dame Angela Eagle, minister for border security, 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 spokeswoman for Deliveroo: “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.”
An Uber Eats spokesman said: “Uber Eats is committed to fighting illegal work. All couriers who use the Uber Eats app, whether it is the account holder or their substitute, must undergo checks to ensure they have a legal right to work in the UK. Unlawful or unsafe behaviour is a clear breach of our community guidelines, and we will investigate and take action on reports of any such behaviour, including permanently removing access to the app.”
Amazon said it checks the right-to-work documentation of every substitute engaged by a Flex delivery partner.