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Britain to introduce compulsory digital ID for workers

(www.reuters.com)
525 points alex77456 | 3 comments | 26 Sep 25 02:09 UTC | HN request time: 0.711s | source
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jjgreen ◴[26 Sep 25 11:08 UTC] No.45385121[source]▶
Before the election I was approached by a bubbly young woman who tried to persuade me to vote Labour: "No thanks, last time I did that they tried to introduce ID cards", "But that's not in our manifesto" she replied, "It wasn't the last time I voted for them either".

It gives me no pleasure to be right on this.

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celticninja ◴[26 Sep 25 11:37 UTC] No.45385315[source]▶
Could you explain what it is you find so distasteful about ID cards?

I mean if you have a passport then you already have an 'ID card', but I certainly don't want to take that out with me to prove my age.

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jjgreen ◴[26 Sep 25 11:42 UTC] No.45385353[source]▶
Could you please give me your real name "celticninja", your phone number, your address, your NI number -- oh, and you'll need to install this app on your phone which I promise will never be used to monitor your location, purchases, friends. Then I'll explain.
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amaccuish ◴[26 Sep 25 11:57 UTC] No.45385455[source]▶
Reductio ad absurdum.
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opless ◴[26 Sep 25 12:06 UTC] No.45385533[source]▶
Not really. British governments have always been increasingly authoritarian.

The stated reason is to stop illegals working.

Unfortunately we have an ID for working, called a national insurance number. We literally can't get legally paid without it.

So a National ID card ... Is irrelevant. You still need this number for benefits, etc.

I've got an NI number, a driving license and a passport. Not to mention a NHS number.

I don't need another form of identification to link together everything about me so my government can leak everywhere.

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pjc50 ◴[26 Sep 25 12:08 UTC] No.45385554[source]▶
NI is not ID for working. It's a tax identifier.

The ID for working system is https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-work , with its digital ID "share code" https://www.gov.uk/view-right-to-work

(what does the digital ID scheme add to this again?)

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opless ◴[26 Sep 25 12:22 UTC] No.45385675[source]▶
Yes, and to be paid via PAYE you need a NI number.

The prove right to work is a slightly newer thing thats additional

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1. mnahkies ◴[26 Sep 25 17:55 UTC] No.45389209[source]▶
The nuance is that you can have a NI number, then have your visa lapse for whatever reason - you still have the NI number. Hence the requirement to prove your right to work through another means.

Previously you could use proof of British nationality or a physical biometric residence card - but they've been replaced by the digital share code system (which tbh hasn't been too bad)

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2. IanCal ◴[26 Sep 25 18:16 UTC] No.45389423[source]▶
No, those are still the ways of proving you have the right to work, it’s only if you’re not a national that you need the share code.
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3. mnahkies ◴[26 Sep 25 18:23 UTC] No.45389501[source]▶
Sorry I worded that poorly - I was trying to make the point that citizens prove their right to work using passport/birth certificate, and until recently visa holders used a physical BRP, and now a digital system (which oddly enough uses your expired/redundant BRP number as a username)