The UK Government has dropped plans to require workers to sign up to a new digital ID scheme in order to prove their right to work in the UK.
Under revised proposals, right to work checks will be carried out digitally by 2029, for example through the use of biometric passports, but registering for the government’s wider digital ID programme will no longer be compulsory.
The move marks a clear shift from last year’s policy announcement, when Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said workers would not be able to work in the UK without a digital ID.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch welcomed the change, describing the original proposal as “a terrible policy” and calling the reversal “another U-turn” by the Labour government.
The change is the latest in a series of policy reversals since Labour came to power, following earlier climbdowns on welfare reforms, winter fuel payments and inheritance tax changes affecting farmers.
When the policy was first announced, ministers argued that mandatory digital ID for workers would help tackle illegal working and reduce fraud.
The scheme is now expected to place less emphasis on immigration enforcement and instead focus on the use of digital ID as a tool for accessing public services.
Speaking at an Institute for Government conference on Tuesday, Darren Jones, the minister overseeing the rollout, said digital ID would support the “digital transformation of customer-facing public services”.
He said a public consultation would be launched “very shortly” and expressed confidence that public opinion would improve over the next year.
The policy has faced sustained opposition since it was unveiled last September, with nearly three million people signing a parliamentary petition against compulsory digital ID.
Some Labour MPs had also raised concerns about making the scheme mandatory.
The Liberal Democrats said the policy had been “doomed to failure” and urged the government to redirect the funding set aside for digital ID to the NHS and frontline policing.
The party’s Cabinet Office spokesperson, Lisa Smart, criticised what she described as repeated policy reversals by the government.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the decision was a “victory for individual liberty” and reiterated his party’s opposition to digital ID cards.
Green Party co-leader Zack Polanski also welcomed the change, describing it as a reversal on ID cards.
Despite the shift, a government spokesperson said ministers remained committed to mandatory digital right to work checks.
They said the current system relies too heavily on paper-based processes, making it vulnerable to fraud and abuse, and argued that digital systems would be more secure and efficient.
Employers are already legally required to check that job applicants have the right to work in the UK.
Since 2022, employers have been able to verify British and Irish passport holders using government-certified digital services.
There is also an existing Home Office online system that checks the immigration status of some non-British and non-Irish citizens whose details are held electronically.
Further details of the digital ID scheme have yet to be published, but it is expected to be built around two government systems: Gov.uk One Login and the planned Gov.uk Wallet.
More than 12 million people have already registered for One Login, which is used to access services such as applying for a veteran card, cancelling a lost passport and managing a lasting power of attorney.
Gov.uk Wallet, which has not yet launched, would allow users to store their digital ID on their smartphones.
The digital ID is expected to include basic personal information such as name, date of birth, nationality, residence status and a photograph.
