The UK Government has dropped plans that would have required workers to sign up to a new digital ID scheme in order to prove their right to work in the UK, marking a shift from the policy first outlined last year – though Labour party opposition are more leaning into terms like “u-turn” and policy “car crash”.

Under the revised approach, right to work checks will still be carried out digitally by 2029, for example using biometric passports, but registering with the government’s digital ID programme will be optional rather than mandatory.

When the policy was first announced late last year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told an audience: “You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It’s as simple as that.”

Ministers have now rolled back a central element of the proposed plans, leaving open the possibility that people will be able to use other forms of identification to prove their right to work. As a result, the digital IDs announced last September will no longer be compulsory for working-age people, given that the only planned mandatory use was to demonstrate the legal right to work in the UK.

Officials have played down the move, describing it as a tweak ahead of a detailed consultation on how the system will function.

When the policy was first set out, the government argued that mandatory digital ID for workers would make it easier to clamp down on illegal working by immigrants. It is now understood that the scheme will deal less narrowly with immigration, with ministers instead placing greater emphasis on the potential benefits of digital ID as a tool for accessing public services.

The proposals attracted significant criticism following their announcement last September, including a parliamentary petition opposing the introduction of digital IDs that was signed by nearly three million people. There was also reported unease among some Labour MPs over the compulsory nature of the original proposal.

Regardless of views on this specific change, frustration has been growing among Labour MPs over the frequency of policy reversals. Some had already been wary of defending controversial government policies to their constituents amid concerns that those policies could later be abandoned.

A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to mandatory digital right to work checks.

“Currently right to work checks include a hodge podge of paper-based systems with no record of checks ever taking place. This is open to fraud and abuse.

“Digital ID will make everyday life easier for people, ensuring public services are more personal, joined-up, and effective, while also remaining inclusive.”

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Employers are already required to check whether a prospective hire has the right to work in the UK.

Since 2022, they have been able to carry out checks on passport-holding British and Irish citizens using government-certified digital verification services. There is also an existing Home Office online scheme that verifies the status of some non-British or Irish citizens whose immigration status is held electronically.

While the detail of how the new digital ID system will operate has yet to be set out, it is expected to be built around two government-developed platforms: Gov.uk One Login and Gov.uk Wallet. More than 12 million people have already signed up to One Login, which can be used for services including applying for a veteran card, cancelling a lost passport and managing a lasting power of attorney.

Gov.uk Wallet has not yet been launched, but is intended to allow people to store their digital ID on their smartphones. The digital ID itself would include information such as name, date of birth, nationality, residence status and a photograph.

When Sir Keir Starmer first announced plans for digital IDs by 2029, they were billed as voluntary, with the exception that they would be mandatory for demonstrating the legal right to work.

Under the revised approach, people will still be required to verify their identity digitally, using a process that is still being developed, but this could involve existing documents such as a passport rather than enrolment in a standalone digital ID scheme.