Thousands of Uber Eats couriers have been sacked amid a major crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Uber has confirmed it blocked hundreds of accounts each month following an agreement with the Home Office to implement more thorough right-to-work checks.
Delivery companies have been under pressure to tackle the rise in undocumented workers creating accounts on the app and abusing their substitution system.
UK employment laws state that substitutes can work in the place of a freelancer.
Uber has confirmed it blocked hundreds of accounts each month
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Uber Eats, along with Deliveroo, have now introduced checks, where couriers can be asked to provide a selfie at random while they work.
In addition, when setting up the accounts, users and their substitutes are required to complete video-based checks to ensure they are legally able to work in the UK.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick cautioned last year that the substitute system was exploiting immigrant workers and encouraging illegal migration.
He urged delivery companies to implement more checks, leaving Uber, Deliveroo and Just Eat to subsequently introduce stricter policies which will come into effect in August.
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Deliveroo also told MPs this month it had fired over 100 workers - becoming the first company to introduce tighter rules.
Since changes were announced in April, Uber Eats also confirmed they had sacked thousands of couriers.
A spokesman for Uber Eats said: “All couriers who use the Uber Eats app, whether it is the account holder or their substitute, must undergo checks to ensure they are over 18 and have a legal right to work in the UK.”
“If a courier has been flagged for any breach in our community guidelines, including unlawful or unsafe behaviour, we investigate and take appropriate action on the account, including permanently removing access to the app.”
Robert Jenrick cautioned last year that the substitute system was exploiting immigrant workers
PA“We are constantly reviewing and improving existing processes to ensure they are as robust as possible.”
In October of last year, police raided a caravan site near Bristol where dozens of undocumented migrants were living while working as food couriers.
Seveteen people were arrested and 13 taken to immigration detention centres, according to police.
As many as one million illegal migrants are thought to be working in the UK, according to a study conducted by Thames Water.
