Reform vow to jail CEOs of firms that hire illegal workers under 'Deliveroo Law'

The bosses of firms found hiring illegal workers would be jailed as part of a “Deliveroo law” under a Reform UK government, the party has said. During a press conference in London on Thursday, Reform’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf vowed a crackdown on illegal working, particularly in the food delivery sector. As well as jail time for company CEOs and directors, Nigel Farage's government would fine firms who break immigration laws 10 per cent of their global revenues. Mr Yusuf linked the policy with the high rates of youth unemployment and claimed enforcement data showed 40 per cent of people in the food delivery industry could be working without the proper documentation. Evidence on the exact number of delivery drivers employed illegally is sparse, but a Home Office operation in April 2023 found 42 per cent of riders stopped by enforcement teams over a six day period were found to be operating without proper paperwork.Reform UK home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf speaking during a press conference in central LondonPAMr Yusuf said: "There are over one million 16 to 24-year-old Brits who are out of work, not in education nor training."They are competing for entry-level jobs with record numbers of illegal workers. It's not fair."Corporate CEOs have been making a fortune by hiring illegal workers and undermining British youngsters."Reform will jail them and stop illegal working for good - we will stand up for British workers.”He added: "We will establish the toughest penalties anywhere in the world to end illegal working and stand up for British workers."Mr Yusuf said under Reform’s immigration plans “well north of a million people” would be deported from Britain. But he added that he still wanted tech companies, like Deliveroo, to set up in the UK. “We want people creating jobs in this country,” he said, “We want people to create businesses in this country. We want people to start startups like Deliveroo in this country... However, there is a bright red line on everything I've just said, which is hiring illegal migrants, and in some cases at industrial scale.Read More“I want to reiterate to you the official data from an enforcement action found north of 40 per cent of them were found to be working illegally... I mean, Deliveroo pictures itself as a technology company.“It's more than capable of stopping it. The fact of the matter is, as I said in my speech, for a lot of these companies, and it isn't just Deliveroo, a lot of these companies, they see whatever fines they may get, whatever attention, negative attention they might get for doing it, as a minor inconvenience and a small cost of doing business.”The Home Office has said it is already increasing penalties for companies hiring illegal workers. Seven businesses were fined over £100,000, including Lahore One Restaurant on Commercial Road, Basak Bakery in Haringey, and Antep Tas Firin in Enfield, who were each fined £135,000.There is "clear evidence" asylum seekers are taking jobs with companies such as Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats, shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said after visiting a central London hotel where migrants had been placed by the Home Office.A spokesman for Deliveroo said: “Illegal working should absolutely be addressed, and that's why we've led the industry in cracking down on the sophisticated, organised criminals who attempt to abuse our platform. “We run Right to Work checks on all riders, conduct multiple daily identity checks and use cutting-edge fraud-detection technology, and we'd encourage other industries affected by illegal working to do the same.”