Deliveroo and Uber Eats couriers are renting out their jobs to alleged 'illegal immigrants' online, an investigation has revealed.

Drivers and couriers from both firms are advertising their jobs in private Facebook groups and not taking the necessary precautions in vetting who they sub-hire, found The Sunday Time's Kenza Bryan.

A whistle-blower told the journalist that 'illegal immigrants' are coming in from France, Belgium and Italy in lorries and 'renting other peoples' accounts.'

Deliveroo said as far back as August that they had received a number of reports of this

The companies allow couriers - who are self-employed - to sub-let their accounts to people, given they carry out the necessary checks on their substitute, but Deliveroo doesn't ask for confirmation that this happens.

Uber Eats asks for proof of right to work along with the substitute's driving license within 24 hours. They also say riders must inform restaurants of the change, if they can't verify a substitute's details within two weeks, they deactivate the account.

This means that illegal immigrants could be working in the UK without the right to do so, not paying rent and not having faced a check on their criminal background.

Deliveroo are aware of the issue. A company representative said as far back as August that they had received a number of reports of this nature 'not just in London, but across the country.'

In the private Facebook groups, people advertise their availability, whether that be renting out their occupation, or stating their desire to use someone else's name.

The companies allow couriers - who are self employed - to sub-let their accounts to people

The Sunday Times said that jobs are advertised 'daily' and that the new worker can be paid in cash or via bank transfer. The bank details on the original rider's account can also be changed easily.

In one Portuguese language group called 'Rent account Uber/Deliveroo', a rider advertised a motorbike courier job at £70 for Uber and £60 for Deliveroo.

It was accompanied by the message: 'Let's get the working year started.'

Other people posting in the group clearly stated that they wanted to temporarily rent an account.

One current rider who works legitimately told the paper that it's a 'big problem' and that there are 'Brazilians coming in as tourists and working' before 'disappearing without paying a penny'.

People also openly post on a public page looking for, and renting out work for the companies

Frank Field, chairman of the Commons work and pensions committee, said substitute riders were a 'desperate attempt' by the firms to get around the fact that riders work for them directly and are not self employed as the two firms state.

He added that their models 'exploit' subjects 'who may be in this country illegally'.

Uber Eats said the right to a substitute is a legal requirement, Deliveroo said the reports of illegal riders working as couriers were 'alleged only' and 'completely unproven.'

An Uber spokesman said that the safety of their customers and the general public is 'top priority'.

The spokesman added: 'We take these allegations very seriously. If we are made aware of any breaches to our requirements, we can take immediate steps to deactivate a courier's account.

'In the future we will also be working hard to enhance our safety processes with technology-enabled solutions such as GDPR compliant facial recognition software. This will help us take immediate action to ensure everyone using the Uber Eats app is authorised.'

A restaurant owner confirmed these concerns to Mail Online and told of extra measures people use to work in the UK.

'By UK law you need special food delivery insurance, what the drivers do they sign up by saying they use bicycle so Uber don't require any insurance documents then they just use their car, making the insurance invalid.

'Most of them start work 6 am and work until midnight,' said the source.

He added that Uber must know about this because their app indicates the speed the drivers travel at.

'No bicycle can do 50mph,' he added.