Previously, this Ridesharing Forum site took you in the middle of the action when it reported Uber Eats, as well as other food delivery firms in Great Britain, such as Deliveroo, and Just Eat, getting accused of hiring illegal migrants as workers, citing pieces of evidence.
Now, these platforms have decided to respond to those allegations, but choosing their businesses over others.
Illegal work
Recently, ridesharing media reported those food delivery firms have agreed with the government’s suggestion to strengthen its security checks following reports that some asylum seekers or migrants are working illegally as couriers.
Those companies have agreed to increase facial verifications and fraud checks in a bid to halt people with no right to work in the United Kingdom from using other couriers’ accounts to earn money illegally. In other words, illegal migrants as workers.
In the law, asylum seekers are prohibited from working for the first 12 months of being in Great Britain, or until their asylum applications are approved.
Both are in the wrong, since undercover investigations have revealed that some migrants are staying in government asylum hotels, communicating with the outside world via social, then earning money on the apps.
The government further added there was “illicit account sharing” enabling people to work for the firms illegally.
Action from food delivery firms
The food delivery firms have agreed to heighten up “the use of facial verification checks and fraud detection technology” so no unauthorized courier accounts will be able to pass and play along the platforms.
For instance, Uber Eats, alongside Deliveroo, will beef up the verification checks, while Just Eat will carry out those checks daily rather than their usual monthly basis.
“This government will not turn a blind eye to illegal working,” pointed out the Minister for Border Security and Asylum. “It… hits people’s wages and plays into the hands of the people smuggling gangs.”
The government has ordered the new checks to be in force for over three months.
The context
Local newspapers reported the previous week that Channel migrants were able to obtain or rent out other people’s delivery accounts via social media. However, as per the platform’s system, migrants who have no documents in Great Britain cannot own delivery accounts.
But with the help of other unscrupulous people, these illegal migrants were able to earn around $1,400 a week on the apps, as marked by dozens of online forums where legal riders were subletting, or selling, their accounts for as little as around $55 a week.
Uber Eats agrees with their competitors, saying they would "continue to invest in industry-leading tools to detect illegal work and remove fraudulent accounts.”
It was yesterday when the ministers met with the firms following the reports.
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