Underage teenagers are reportedly signing up with delivery apps through illegal accounts, according to an investigation by the BBC. Even though the minimum age for riders to work for Deliveroo is 18, the family of a 17-year-old rider have revealed that their son acquired his job through an illegal account. Riders have to get background checks and verify their age, as well as ensuring that they are legally allowed to work in the UK with no criminal convictions. Once riders are established in the system, they can allow other people to use their accounts. But the app they’re working for doesn’t carry out the necessary checks to ensure the substitute is also eligible.
The UK government has now called on Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat to reform their policies to prevent such abuses. Substitution, or the practice of riders lending accounts to others to allow them to work instead of them, has created an online trade in accounts. This trade ultimately includes potentially children, as riders can anonymously lend out their accounts to other riders without conducting proper checks.
An investigation by BBC revealed that sellers in social media offered Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat accounts for sale or rent for the three main delivery apps. Some of these sellers don’t discriminate by age and are willing to rent out their account to those not legally eligible or registered to work. Home Office Minister, Robert Jenrick, has called for any ‘substitute rider’ to also be verified by app officials rather than by just the account owner. MPs also argue for deeper and systemic reforms to weed out issues associated with the gig economy
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