The Home Office has reached an agreement with food delivery giants Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats to share the locations of asylum hotels in an effort to prevent asylum seekers from working illegally in the gig economy.
Under the new partnership, the government will provide these companies with data on hotels in high-risk areas. The goal is to help platforms identify and suspend accounts suspected of being used fraudulently, particularly in cases where legal account holders are believed to be sharing their profiles with individuals not authorised to work in the UK.
The move follows an investigation that uncovered how newly arrived asylum seekers, housed in taxpayer-funded hotels, were delivering food for these platforms within days of arriving by small boat.
However, UK law prohibits asylum seekers from working for at least 12 months after they submit their asylum claim unless a decision is made sooner. Officials say this ban is being routinely circumvented through account sharing, which allows unauthorised individuals to earn income under someone else’s name.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the new measures as a vital part of a broader campaign to close loopholes and clamp down on illegal work.
“Illegal working undermines honest businesses, exploits vulnerable individuals, and fuels organised immigration crime,” Cooper said. “By enhancing our data sharing with delivery companies, we are taking decisive action to close loopholes and increase enforcement.”
The initiative comes alongside an ongoing Plan for Change, which includes a 50% rise in workplace raids and arrests, tougher security measures, and new legislation aimed at curbing illegal employment and deterring irregular migration.
Delivery platforms have already begun tightening identity and right-to-work checks. According to the Home Office, these measures have resulted in the removal of thousands of workers from the apps. In addition, the companies have committed to expanding their use of facial recognition and fraud detection tools to ensure only verified account holders are allowed to work.
Anyone caught sharing their account with someone who lacks legal working status will have their access suspended, the companies said.
Director of Enforcement at the Home Office, Eddy Montgomery praised the collaboration as a necessary step in disrupting illegal activity.
“This next step of coordinated 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,” Montgomery said. “My teams will continue increased enforcement activity across the country.”
The new measures form part of a broader government effort to reduce the perceived pull factors attracting migrants to the UK. That includes a promised “nationwide blitz” on illegal working and a recently agreed bilateral deal between Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron to return some migrants crossing the Channel back to France.
So far in 2025, over 23,500 migrants have crossed the English Channel to the UK, a record for this point in the year.
The delivery firms involved said in a joint statement that they are fully committed to supporting the government’s enforcement efforts and preventing illegal working on their platforms.
