At some workplaces?

I don't know, probably? That always was an offence[1] anyway.

New scheme, mandatory digital ID, would simply stop Britons from being able to use their physical passport to prove they can work. For everyone else that would swap existing electronic-only scheme with another electronic-only scheme.

I don't think anyone half awake would mistake a refugee with a Brit. At least it's not a problem that would explain introducing a whole huge PITA -- like with mandatory IDs for voting: if I'm not mistaken TWO people total were sentenced for voting-related offences, yet we spend double digits of millions of pounds only to (knowingly) disenfranchise voters traditionally voting against the Conservative government.

Look, I'm a citizen of the EU country and my country's physical ID holds electronic layer containing private keys I can use to remotely sign stuff or authenticate myself. It also allows me to using a digital only ID, and the app ecosystem around that is truly amazing. And I'm a picky one.

Basically it's everything, along with basically every single one European physical ID with electronic layer built-in.

British digital ID was *nothing' of that. If it was a physical smartcard first, optional and not mandatory, I'd probably support it, but the government messaging about that was full of lies and handwaving, especially when people were bringing up the failures of digital only systems like Settled Status for Europeans. Nothing mattered, steamrolling over arguments with soundbites.

No, long story short: no, digital IDs are NOT mandatory and no, employment fraud is not that widespread, and the new system won't fix the employers skirting the law.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/illegal-working-p...