Home Office undertakes directed enforcement action against delivery operators

The Home Office has arrested 60 delivery drivers from delivery operators such as Deliveroo, UberEats, and Just Eat as part of a crackdown on illegal working.

The arrests took place over a six-day period between 16 and 21 April 2023 in London and the South of England as part of a joint operation between the Home Office and the Police.

44 of those arrested were detained by the Home Office, pending their removal from the UK. The remaining 16 were released on bail.

The Home Office commented that it expects that a number of the arrests to “result in a voluntary departure from the UK.”

The operation also resulted in the seizure of weapons and cash “suspected of being linked to criminal activity.”

Employers can be jailed for five years or required to pay an unlimited fine if they are found guilty of hiring someone they knew or had reasonable cause to believe did not have the right to work in the UK. It is also worth remembering that illegal working features heavily within the Section 182 Guidance that accompanies the Licensing Act 2003 and can be a key factor in Responsible Authorities, most notably the Police and the Home Office, seeking a review of a premises licence.