Tag: Right to Work checks

New digital ID scheme to be rolled out across UK

  • Prime Minister announces plans for free digital ID for those living in the UK
  • Will curb the prospect of work for illegal migrants, a significant factor driving small boat crossings
  • Scheme will also make it easier for the public to access the services they are entitled to

A new digital ID scheme will help combat illegal working while making it easier for the vast majority of people to use vital government services. Digital ID will be mandatory for Right to Work checks by the end of the Parliament.

The scheme will be available to all UK citizens and legal residents, saving time by ending the need for complicated identity checks which often rely on copies of paper records. 

Instead, the roll-out will in time make it simpler to apply for services like driving licences, childcare and welfare, while streamlining access to tax records. The new digital ID will be held on people’s phones, just as millions already use the NHS App or contactless mobile payments.

There will be no requirement for individuals to carry their ID or be asked to produce it – but digital ID will be mandatory as a means of proving your Right to Work.

This will stop those with no right to be here from being able to find work, curbing their prospect of earning money, one of the key “pull factors” for people who come to the UK illegally.

It will send a clear message that if you come here illegally, you will not be able to work, deterring people from making these dangerous journeys.

This initiative builds on the government’s crackdown on illegal working and its mission to control borders as part of the Plan for Change. Under this government, illegal working arrests have soared by 50%, and new legislation is being brought forward to help stop illegal working in the gig economy.

The proposals also follow the government’s success in deporting the first illegal migrants under the landmark UK-France returns deal last week.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “I know working people are worried about the level of illegal migration into this country. A secure border and controlled migration are reasonable demands, and this government is listening and delivering.

“Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure. And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly – rather than hunting around for an old utility bill.

“We are doing the hard graft to deliver a fairer Britain for those who want to see change, not division. That is at the heart of our Plan for Change, which is focused on delivering for those who want to see their communities thrive again.”

The plan will combat criminal gangs who promise access to the UK labour market in order to profit from dangerous, illegal channel crossings.

A new streamlined digital system to check Right to Work will simplify the process, drive up compliance, crack down on forged documents and create intelligence data on businesses that are conducting checks to help the Home Office take action on employers who are hiring illegally. 

Building on the work already underway to roll out a GOV.UK digital wallet, the digital ID will sit on people’s phones, alongside the digital driving licence which the government has already announced plans to introduce.

The government will listen to a range of views on how the service will be delivered, as part of a public consultation to be launched later this year.

In designing the digital ID scheme, the government will ensure that it works for those who aren’t able to use a smartphone, with inclusion at the heart of its design. The public consultation will engage with groups who aren’t as experienced with the digital world, like the homeless and older people, learning from other countries that have done this well. 

The scheme will be rolled out alongside an outreach programme, including face-to-face support for citizens who are struggling to access the scheme. 

This will result in a service that takes the best aspects of the digital identification systems that are already up and running around the world:

  • In Australia, citizens can access a range of private services, from banking to buying alcohol, with their digital identification, reducing the need for multiple separate accounts and pieces of paper.
  • In Estonia, digital ID has revolutionised parents’ lives by enabling access to child benefits, health records and applications for nursery places seamlessly, never having to provide the same information twice.
  • In Denmark, students can use their national digital ID to log in and automatically retrieve education records and qualifications in job and university applications.
  • And in India, the government has saved around US $10 billion annually by reducing fraud and leakages in welfare schemes.

The new plans will offer significant benefits for reducing identity theft and preserving privacy, with security at its core.

Digital ID limits personal details being shared unnecessarily, by only sharing the relevant information for the specific scenario in question. It will also use state-of-the-art encryption and user authentication to ensure data is held and accessed securely.

Illegal working enforcement soars in drive to strengthen border security

Over 6,000 arrests and 9,000 visits carried out across the UK since general election in Labour’s crackdown on illegal working

A major surge in immigration enforcement activity across the UK has led to a 51% rise in the number of arrests since Labour’s general election victory, as part of a Home Office drive to disable the illegal working trade in the UK.   

Immigration Enforcement teams have intensified activity in towns, cities and villages to tackle those abusing the UK immigration system and exploiting vulnerable people. It forms part of the government’s efforts to crack down on organised immigration crime at every level under the Plan for Change and end the false promise of jobs used to sell spaces on small boats.   

Since 5 July last year to 31 May, 9,000 visits have resulted in 6,410 arrests, marking a 48% and 51% rise respectively compared to the year before under the previous government (5 July 2023 to 31 May 2024).   

Particular focus has been on tackling employers facilitating illegal working, often subjecting migrants to squalid conditions and illegal working hours below minimum wage. Restaurants, nail bars and construction sites have been among the thousands of businesses targeted.    

The new measures come alongside a ramp-up of operational activity to restore control of the immigration system, including the return of nearly 30,000 people with no right to be in the UK.   

Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: “For too long, employers have been able to take on and exploit migrants, with people allowed to arrive and work here illegally.

“This will no longer be tolerated on our watch. That’s why we are ramping up our enforcement activity and introducing tougher laws to finally get a grip of our immigration and asylum system.  

“Under our Plan for Change, we will continue to root out unscrupulous employers and disrupt illegal workers who undermine our border security.”

It is a legal requirement for employers to carry out Right to Work checks and those who fail to do so face hefty penalties including fines of up to £60,000 per worker, director disqualifications and potential prison sentences of up to five years.   

Director of Enforcement, Compliance and Crime at Immigration Enforcement Eddy Montgomery said: “Our work to tackle illegal working is vital in not only bringing the guilty to account, but also in protecting vulnerable people from exploitation.  

“I’m incredibly proud of our enforcement teams across the country for their hard work, skill and co-operation on these often challenging but highly important operations.”

During one major co-ordinated operation in March, officers made 36 arrests at a construction site in Belfast’s historic Titanic Quarter. Offences ranged from breaching visa conditions to illegal entry in the UK with no permission to work.  

Elsewhere, 9 arrests were made at a caravan park in Surrey last month following intelligence individuals were working illegally as delivery drivers in the gig economy.  

Meanwhile, 9 people were also arrested in Bradford in March as officers intercepted a popular illegal working pick up point in Naples Street.  

Ramping up illegal working enforcement activity forms a key part of the Home Office’s drive to restore order to the immigration system under the Labour Government’s Plan for Change.  

In many cases, individuals travelling to the UK illegally are sold a lie by smuggling gangs that they will be able to live and work freely in the UK, when in reality they often end up facing squalid living conditions, minimal pay and inhumane working hours, with the threat of arrest and removal if they are caught working illegally.  

In the latest move to restore order to the asylum and immigration system, the government is also introducing tough new laws to clamp down on illegal working by extending Right to Work checks on those hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors like construction, food delivery, beauty salons and courier services.