Reform UK’s ‘Deliveroo Law’: Bosses Face Jail and Firms Risk 10% Revenue Fines

A multinational company could lose 10% of its worldwide revenue and its chief executive could face prison if illegal workers were found inside the business under a new policy proposed by Reform UK.

The party has branded its plan the “Deliveroo Law”, placing delivery platforms and the wider gig economy at the centre of its latest immigration announcement. Restaurants, warehouses, car washes and high-street businesses could also fall within its scope.

Reform home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf said companies should no longer be able to profit from illegal labour without senior leaders being held responsible. He argued that the practice undercuts lawful employers and makes it harder for young British workers to find entry-level jobs.

The proposal is not currently law. Reform would need to form a government, draft legislation and win parliamentary approval before any of the new penalties could be introduced.

From a workplace offence to a boardroom risk

The most significant part of the plan is its treatment of chief executives and directors. Reform wants senior managers to be personally and criminally liable when their companies employ someone without permission to work in the UK.

It would be a strict-liability offence, according to the party. Prosecutors would not necessarily need to show that a director knew about the individual worker or intended to break immigration law.

That could create serious consequences for companies using franchises, contractors and self-employed workers. A compliance failure at a local branch or subcontracted warehouse could potentially reach executives who had no direct involvement in recruitment.

Reform has compared the idea with accountability rules for senior managers in financial services. However, the party has not yet stated how long a convicted executive could be imprisoned or whether a director could avoid prosecution by demonstrating that effective checks and controls were in place.

The proposed company fine would be based on global revenue rather than simply the number of illegal workers discovered. Ten per cent of worldwide revenue could amount to hundreds of millions of pounds for a large delivery, retail or logistics group.

It remains unclear whether 10% would be a fixed punishment or the maximum available in the most serious cases. Reform has also not explained whether the fine would apply to an international parent company, its UK subsidiary, a franchise or the business that directly hired the worker.

The “Deliveroo Law” name reflects concerns about account sharing in app-based work. A rider who passes identity and right-to-work checks may allow another person to use the account, meaning the individual completing deliveries may never have been approved by the platform.

Deliveroo says it has zero tolerance for illegal working and uses right-to-work procedures, facial verification and fraud-detection technology. The policy is not aimed at Deliveroo alone and could affect other platforms operating through similar flexible-working arrangements.

A tip line, cash rewards and the rules already in force

Reform also wants the public to report suspected illegal working and organised criminal activity through a dedicated telephone service. Some coverage has referred to it as a “Turkish barber tip line” because of the party’s focus on barber shops and other cash-based high-street businesses.

Police, Immigration Enforcement and trading standards teams would be expected to investigate credible reports. An informant could receive part of the financial penalty when their information produced a successful prosecution.

Rewards may persuade workers or local residents to disclose genuine exploitation and organised account sharing. They could also generate malicious complaints from neighbours, former employees or commercial rivals. Any reporting system would need to protect lawful businesses from allegations based only on ethnicity, accent or appearance.

Reform says money from the penalties would also support victims of crimes committed by migrants and help restore struggling high streets. No detailed funding or distribution system has been published.

Employers already face substantial consequences for illegal working. Current penalties can reach £45,000 per worker for a first breach and £60,000 per worker for repeat breaches. The official Home Office guidance for employers says businesses can establish protection against a civil penalty by completing and recording the required right-to-work checks.

Existing sanctions can also include business closures, licence revocations and restrictions on sponsoring overseas workers. Serious criminal offences can result in prison sentences of up to five years. One council was fined £45,000 in June after employing a single illegal worker.

The government says it is already extending checks to gig-economy and delivery work. It has reported an 83% increase in illegal-working arrests and a 77% rise in enforcement raids since Labour entered office. A Home Office source accused Reform of repackaging existing action and described the remainder of the policy as “empty posturing”.

Britain has already struggled to settle on a reliable employment-verification system. The reversal of plans for compulsory digital identification for workers showed the tension between stronger checks, privacy and practical enforcement. The wider changes affecting UK migrants and settlement have added another layer of uncertainty for workers and employers.

For now, businesses must follow the rules already in force. Lawful migrant workers retain their employment rights, and employers must avoid discriminatory checks based on nationality or background.

The unresolved test for Reform is whether Parliament and the courts would accept prison sentences for executives who had no knowledge of a breach. Until the party publishes a bill, the 10% fine, personal liability and reward-based tip line remain political commitments rather than enforceable rules.

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