UK Mandates Gig Economy Employers to Verify Worker Eligibility Under New Immigration Crackdown

New amendments to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill impose strict penalties on employers failing to conduct legal work checks, as the UK hosts a global summit on people-smuggling.

Gig economy and zero-hour contract employers in the UK are now legally required to verify that workers have the right to work in the country, under new amendments to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
Failure to comply could result in fines of up to £60,000 per worker, prison sentences of up to five years, business closures, and disqualification from serving as company directors.
The Home Office will provide these legal work eligibility checks free of charge, aiming to reduce illegal working and disrupt people-smuggling networks.
Major gig economy companies like Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats already voluntarily conduct such checks, but the new measures standardize the practice across all employers in the sector.
An international summit in London, with representatives from 40 countries, will address global cooperation to combat people-smuggling and organized immigration crime.