Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure people working as riders for food delivery companies have the right to work in Britain.

Clamping down on illegal working is a critical part of this Government’s work to restore fairness, order and control within the immigration and asylum system. This includes measures in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act to ensure companies who utilise flexible worker models, as seen in the food delivery sector, are required to conduct right to work checks to prevent illegal working when they contract workers to provide services under their company name.

These new legislative measures will restrict the ability of employers to take advantage of illegal workers and encourage businesses to provide work opportunities to only those permitted to work in the UK. It will provide parity across industries and will set a level playing field for businesses to uphold their responsibilities to prevent illegal working in the UK.

The Government intends to publish the response to the 'Consultation on the prevention of illegal working: Extending the Right to Work Scheme to other working arrangements' alongside updated guidance and statutory codes of practice in due course.