Deliveroo riders reporting each other to Home Office in illicit worker turf war

Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat riders say their pay is so low it is leading workers to turn on one another in order to make a living, i can reveal.

Riders who officially sign up to work for the delivery giants say they have reported illegal workers – who may have rented their delivery rider accounts – to the Home Office in an attempt to get them deported.

The gig economy workers say they are being paid less by the food delivery giants than before, which is leading to increased competition for orders and sparking tension between riders.

One rider said he was being forced to look for another job as he can no longer pay his bills, while another said he feels “like a slave”.

Last month, i revealed thousands of Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat delivery rider accounts are being traded for use by illegal workers. This loophole is being used by people wishing to evade criminal and right to work background checks to rent a rider account through a growing online marketplace.

Following this report, i spent the day in Brighton speaking to riders, who revealed their pay and working conditions.

Riders who officially sign up to work for the companies claimed undocumented riders have fewer expenses and can accept lower fees, which means the firms continue to offer low-paid work.

One man who has been a food delivery driver for six years said: “The problem is some riders call back home and say come, you can make £1,000 a week and so they come, they are so excited but they have no licence, no documents, nothing.

“Everybody knows about it and the thing is Deliveroo is never going to look after you.

“But for them [undocumented riders], they are desperate so they take [low-paid jobs] and it’s affecting us and what we can earn if the companies see they can pay so little. Some of these guys are waking up at 6am and then working overnight. They are desperate.”

i found that riders’ frustration over pay and conditions was leading to tension between workers, including instances of physical intimidation and attempts to get people deported by contacting the police and the Home Office.

One rider said: “They don’t have the documentation and they don’t worry. I told it to the police. I told it to immigration. I even gave their telephone numbers.”

Another said: “I have called immigration many times. A lot of the frustration is with Deliveroo. It is too easy to rent an account.”

“Yes, of course, I have called the [Immigration] Office,” a third rider said when asked if he had heard of workers attempting to report others.

Multiple people also alleged two documented riders attacked a suspected undocumented rider in Brighton. There was also an incident of a legal worker’s bike being deliberately damaged.

The riders said they were not against undocumented workers in general but felt forced to act in order to make enough money to survive.

“Many of the people coming here do not have documents. They work on the app by renting an account, no questions asked,” said Paul (not his real name), who came to the UK from Brazil.

Speaking of undocumented workers from his home country, he said: “They don’t know when it will be their last day before they are sent back to Brazil so they take all the lowest jobs. They don’t care. You see them working all hours.

“It is not fair. We pay our taxes, insurance, have all our documents. They don’t [do that] so they can take the lowest jobs.”

In a WhatsApp chat used by riders, seen by i, someone messaged about an immigration raid on a house in a Brighton suburb, in what appeared to be a warning to others. Some riders commented they would avoid the area or stay at home that day to avoid being caught.

It is understood the issues reported in Brighton have also been observed in other parts of the country.

Jack Beadsworth, who researches labour law and the exploitation of migrant workers at University College London, said rising tension between gig economy workers is a “deeply concerning development”. However, he said the situation is not surprising given the business model of food delivery companies relies on “hyper-competition” between workers.

Riders also told i they felt frustrated with the companies over their working conditions.

“I feel like I’ve been tricked,” said Davide, a delivery rider who did not want to share his real name. “When I started seven years ago it was a good job but now it’s just getting worse every day.”

The workers believe there are more riders in the area, which is also driving up competition.

There are 4.7 million gig economy workers in the UK, with figures for Deliveroo and Uber Eats in recent years, suggesting the two companies have more than 120,000 riders between them. Just Eat has nearly 2,000 riders.

It is not known how many substitute riders are operating on top of these figures. It is understood that Just Eat operates a strict limit on the number of riders able to work at any set time.

The delivery firms make it the responsibility of the original account holder to vet any substitute workers and their details do not need to be registered within the app.

i understands that some of the food-delivery companies are reviewing how rental accounts operate, but the rules around substitute workers are set out in employment law.

The Rodeo app indicates pay for delivery riders has dropped. The app, with 15,000 users, enables workers to track their earnings.

For Just Eat riders, average order fees (what the rider receives) fell from £6.53 in 2021 to £5.59 in 2023 – a drop of 14.4 per cent, according to data collected by Rodeo. Uber Eats fees dropped by 3.4 per cent over the same period, with average payments decreasing from £4.36 to £4.21.

The figures do not include inflation and were captured during the cost-of-living crisis.

Data for Deliveroo is incomplete as the food delivery giant blocked the Rodeo app from using rider information. Rodeo published that the average fee dropped by 0.22 per cent in 2022 from 2021. When Deliveroo was first launched, riders were offered a flat fee with top-ups but now fees vary and are calculated in part by noting the distance and time a delivery will take to complete.

Alfie Pearce-Higgins, co-founder of Rodeo and gig economy rider, told i: “Delivery drivers have faced consecutive years of flat or falling pay while their expenses have been rising at record levels.”

“This highlights why gig workers need better access to and control of their data. Unfortunately, Deliveroo has shown that they are willing to do almost anything to fight pay transparency – their obstructiveness is cynical, short-sighted and likely to backfire.”

A Just Eat spokesperson said the company’s internal data did not match that of Rodeo’s. “Our data shows that couriers delivering for Just Eat earn, on average, significantly over both the London and national living wage for the time they are on an order.

“We also offer regular incentives and have measures in place to ensure that we only schedule as many couriers as required for the anticipated level of deliveries which enables couriers to maximise their earnings.”

Mr Beadsworth said while “examples of serious conflict between groups of already vulnerable workers” is a “deeply concerning development”, conflict between documented and undocumented workers appears to have been relatively rare in the UK.

“The conditions in the gig economy and the business models of companies like Deliveroo actively undermine solidarity between workers whilst fostering division and conflict. Work in the gig economy is often extremely unstable, insecure and very poorly paid.

“Frustration and resentment towards the employer for creating exploitative conditions can be misdirected at other workers. Conflict of this kind does not advance the cause of workers, and only makes undocumented workers more vulnerable, fearful and isolated. The only party that benefits is Deliveroo.”

The Home Office said: “Illegal working causes untold harm to our communities and puts vulnerable people at risk.

“We have led engagement with these companies to end the use of unverified substitution. An agreement is already in place for businesses to strengthen existing recruitment and vetting processes, and we will continue this work to stamp out enablers of illegal migration, and prevent unacceptable exploitation of workers.”

The three companies said they take rider and customer safety seriously, and that all background checks on substitute workers must be carried out by the rider wishing to rent out the account.

A Just Eat spokesperson said: “We take the concerns of all couriers on the Just Eat network extremely seriously. Their safety and welfare is important to us, and we welcome their feedback.

“We continue to work closely with policymakers to develop solutions which ensure couriers substituting their work do so safely in accordance with the law.”

A Deliveroo spokesperson said: “Deliveroo aims to provide the flexible work riders tell us they want, attractive earning opportunities and protections. Rider retention rates are high and the overwhelming majority of riders tell us that they are satisfied working with us.

“We value dialogue with riders, have a voluntary partnership with a union and will enter collective bargaining on pay in April.”

Deliveroo offers riders free insurance, sickness cover, financial support for new parents and training opportunities. It said “the security and safety of our riders is an absolute priority” and that it has a rider engagement team to help riders and provide the mobile security app Flare for free.

“Deliveroo condemns violence of all kinds and we will not work with riders who have committed threatening or violent behaviour,” Deliveroo said.

An Uber spokesperson said: “Hundreds of thousands of people across the country rely on flexible work, from students to working parents. We take our responsibilities to couriers, and everyone who uses the Uber Eats app, very seriously.

“All couriers on Uber Eats must pass a criminal background check, be over the age of 18 and hold a valid right to work in the UK.”