UK Government Scraps Mandatory Worker Digital IDs After Record Petition

• The policy reversal comes after a public petition against the plan gained almost three million signatures.
• Announced in September 2025, the initial plan was for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government to introduce a digital ID card.
• The idea sparked a huge debate about privacy and government overreach, facing opposition.

The UK government has reversed its plans to mandate digital identity (digital ID) documents for workers. This notable policy reversal comes after a public petition against the plan gained almost three million signatures, as the change follows strong public backlash, political criticism, and concerns about privacy.

Announced in September 2025, the initial plan was for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government to introduce a digital ID card (sometimes called the BritCard). It would be stored on a smartphone and prove someone’s legal right to work in the UK. The government argued it would help stop illegal work and make public services run more smoothly.

However, the mandatory requirement has now been dropped, which means workers will not be forced to get a specific government digital ID to find or keep a job. Employers will still need to verify the right to work digitally, but individuals can use standard documents like passports, visas, biometric permits, or other approved ID instead of a single, government-run digital ID.

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Privacy and Civil Liberties Concerns

The original digital ID plan aimed to replace the old paper-based work eligibility checks and modernize access to government services (like getting benefits or a driver’s license) by putting people’s ID in a digital wallet on the gov.uk website. 

Nonetheless, the idea sparked a huge debate about privacy and government overreach, facing opposition from inside the Labour Party, other political parties, rights groups, and tech experts.

Civil liberties groups, such as Big Brother Watch, warned that forcing people to use a government digital ID could create a single, central database that is at risk of being used for surveillance, hacked, or having its purpose expanded over time, which could weaken individual rights.

This move is widely seen as a big U-turn for the Labour government and has been criticized by opposition parties for showing weak and inconsistent policymaking. News reports point out that this has been one of several high-profile reversals since Starmer became Prime Minister.

While the UK still plans to use digital “right to work” checks, the mandatory digital ID card has been put on hold for now.

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