The room gave bigger fines a decisive Yes, but the sharper story was how quickly the argument widened beyond immigration status. The floor’s most-respected Yes case said firms should also check “valid insurance for the vehicle they are using/borrowing”, turning enforcement into a broader test of corporate responsibility.
The winning side’s case was blunt: penalties must alter the economics of the business, not merely decorate the statute book. One Yes voter argued that firms should be hit “hard enough” that they would “miraculously find the tech to verify who is actually riding”, while others pressed for stronger investigations alongside larger fines.
No voters did not deny that illegal working exists; they questioned the chosen target and the method. The strongest No case warned that authorities could “target specific sectors” to meet quotas, while another said the policy was “punishing people for contributing” and making reliance on public funds their only route.
That left the two sides talking past each other. Yes voters treated continuing breaches as proof that existing deterrence is too weak; No voters answered that the government should close loopholes, speed up legal routes and enforce rules across every sector, not single out delivery platforms.
In a live immigration argument about who carries responsibility for enforcement, the chamber put the burden firmly on the firms that organise the work. The verdict was emphatic, but its underlying demand was specific: make non-compliance expensive enough to change the business model.
31 Opinions
If they are not legitimately able to work in the UK, it's unlikely they have valid insurance for the vehicle they are using/borrowing. Which includes the likes of Uber. It shouldn't just be for those with no right to work in the UK, it should be for any worker where they have failed to check things such as insurance, driving license or done a proper DBS check.
Yes & No. Our deceitful Government is allowing this to happen, but holds option in reserve of fining Companies if the Political heat gets too hot. Govt should not assign its responsibilities to companies. UK Labour ARE the people smugglers they are the money launders in Ukraine and they could stop invasion of UK tomorrow by they won’t as it’s part of the plan to destroy the UK its farming energy sector industry & the whole economy whilst literally taxing us to death.
Yes but make the fines bigger. Small punitive fines do nothing for billion pound enterprises. Hit their bottom line hard enough and they'll miraculously find the tech to verify who is actually riding...
All companies should pay penalties if hiring illegally. The penalties should double with each illegal caught. UK budget saved.
Not £60K per person but £6M per breach. That'll get their attention.
Punishing people for contributing rather than supporting them. E.g giving them temporary national insurance numbers. It is absurd that we litterally make it illegal to let people work and demand their only means of survival is reliance on the state and public funds... and then complain about it that they do the very thing we told them to.
The problem here is that the authorities will target specific sectors so that they can meet quotas and make better penalty results, skewing the data and distracting from other areas where illegal migrant working is taking place. These are also areas of employment that are more likely to employ minorities, which enables a race related bias to be justified.
All companies should face fines, not just delivery firms. It seems very strange to only target this at a single sector
Police ignore it. Non of vehicles are taxed for business use so are illegal, like most of the drivers. Confiscate cars bikes scooter roller blades. They worship money so hit them where it hurts. The
The fact that this hasn't been done before, frankly, boggles the mind.