• The change in coverage comes after a nationwide petition opposing the plan gathered round 3 million signatures.
• The unique plan, introduced in September 2025, was for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s authorities to introduce digital ID playing cards.
• The thought sparked an enormous debate about privateness and authorities overreach and was met with opposition.

The UK authorities has scrapped plans to require digital id paperwork for staff. This notable change in coverage comes within the wake of robust public opposition to the plan, political criticism and privateness considerations, and after a nationwide petition towards the plan gathered practically 3 million signatures.

The unique plan, introduced in September 2025, was for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s authorities to introduce a digital ID card (often known as the BritCard). It is going to be saved in your smartphone and show somebody’s authorized proper to work within the UK. The federal government claimed this is able to deter unlawful labor and permit public companies to run extra easily.

Nonetheless, this requirement has now been eliminated, and staff will not be compelled to acquire a particular authorities digital ID to seek out or maintain a job. Employers will nonetheless have to confirm the suitable to work digitally, however people can use normal paperwork corresponding to passports, visas, biometric permits, and different accepted IDs as an alternative of a single government-run digital ID.

Associated: UK formally acknowledges cryptocurrencies as property: Royal Assent given to 2025 Act

Privateness and civil liberties considerations

The unique digital ID plan aimed to interchange previous paper-based work eligibility checks and modernize entry to authorities companies (corresponding to getting advantages and driving licenses) by placing folks’s IDs right into a digital pockets on the gov.uk web site.

Nonetheless, the thought sparked an enormous debate about privateness and authorities overreach, and confronted opposition from inside the Labor Celebration, different political events, rights teams, and know-how specialists.

Civil liberties teams corresponding to Massive Brother Watch have warned that forcing folks to make use of authorities digital IDs may undermine particular person rights by making a single central database that dangers getting used for surveillance, hacked, or expanded in goal over time.

The transfer is extensively seen as a serious U-turn for the Labor authorities, and has been criticized by opposition events as displaying weak and inconsistent policy-making. Information experiences level out that that is certainly one of a number of high-profile reversals since Starmer turned prime minister.

The UK nonetheless plans to make use of digital ‘proper to work’ checks, however mandating digital ID playing cards has been placed on maintain for now.

Associated: What are the brand new crypto guidelines in Europe and the UK?