The government plans to introduce a digital ID card across the UK, which will be mandatory for right to work checks, but will not have to be carried around
There will be no requirement for individuals to carry their ID or be asked to produce it, but digital ID will be mandatory as a means of proving Right to Work. This means all employers will have to verify digital IDs instead of the current checks using passports and paper based documents to prove identity.
The digital ID system will be designed with ‘best-in-class security at its core’, the government stressed, critical in a week where major cyberattacks have struck airline check-ins and even a chain of nursery schools.
Digital credentials will be stored directly on people’s smartphones in the same way as contactless payment cards or the NHS App.
The plan is to roll out the scheme nationwide with legislation in place by the end of this parliament in 2029, but there is already resistance from privacy groups, opposition political parties and the devolved government in Northern Ireland.
