Becoming a courier in London: right to work, status and registration

Courier work in London looks like the simplest way in: pick up a bag and ride. In practice there are three checks to clear first, and one legal question that decides both your rights and your money.

Step one: prove your right to work

You prove your right to work in the UK before you start. British and Irish citizens show a passport or an Irish passport card — an expired one is accepted. Without a passport, a birth or adoption certificate or a certificate of registration or naturalisation will do, but it must be accompanied by an official letter from a previous employer or a government agency showing your name and National Insurance number.

Everyone else proves it one of two ways: with a share code obtained online, or with eligible immigration documents. The choice is yours, and an employer cannot reject you simply for bringing a document instead of a code.

If you cannot prove it, the employer can use the employer checking service.

Step two: know your status

This is the question that matters most and gets asked least. A courier is engaged either as self-employed or as a "worker", and the two carry very different rights.

A self-employed person runs their business for themselves and takes responsibility for its success or failure. They are not paid through PAYE and do not have employee rights. Employment law does not cover them in most cases: what remains is health and safety protection, protection against discrimination in some cases, and whatever the contract with the client says.

The markers of self-employment on gov.uk: you bid or quote to get work; you are not under direct supervision; you submit invoices; you pay your own tax and National Insurance; you get no holiday or sick pay; and the contract uses words like self-employed, consultant or independent contractor.

ADV · A001ONLYWAY JEWELRY — gold, silver and platinumRings, chains, bracelets, earrings and pendants. Delivery across the UK.Advertise here

Worker status gives considerably more: the National Minimum Wage, protection against unlawful deductions from wages, the statutory minimum paid holiday, statutory minimum rest breaks, a 48-hour average weekly limit or the right to opt out of it, protection against discrimination, and protection for whistleblowers.

What a worker usually does not get: minimum notice periods, protection against unfair dismissal, the right to request flexible working, and statutory redundancy pay.

One more thing worth knowing: HMRC may treat someone as self-employed for tax even if their employment-law status is different. And if the status is wrong, both sides can face unpaid tax and penalties.

Step three: register

If you work self-employed, the sequence runs: check whether sole trader status suits you; choose your business name; find out what records you must keep; register as a sole trader; check which taxes apply; and plan for the tax bill in advance.

An important change of date: from the 2027 to 2028 tax year the trading allowance rises from £1,000 to £3,000, and the self-assessment reporting threshold rises to the same £3,000.

If you are planning on a moped

First a provisional licence, then compulsory basic training (CBT) and the certificate it produces. A helmet meeting safety standards is required. The minimum age for a moped is 16.

After CBT you have two years to pass the theory and practical tests, or you must take CBT again. Both parts of the practical test must be passed within two years of the theory test.

What to check before your first shift

Read the contract and find the word it uses for you. That word decides your holiday pay, your minimum wage and your breaks. If it says self-employed but you work under constant control and cannot send someone in your place, the status is worth challenging — that is exactly what years of British litigation have been about.