The latter I questioned as to why he wanted a copy, he didn't know, checked with his management, and indeed under The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003:
19. Neither an agency nor an employment business may introduce or supply a work-seeker to a hirer unless it has obtained confirmation -...and this agency has interpreted that as meaning a photocopy of the passport is sufficient. Obviously, I could refuse that, but would still need to be able to prove my identity to them somehow.
(a) of the identity of the work-seeker;
I'm beginning to wonder what the point of opposing ID cards is if to live a "normal" life, we need to prove our identity every few months; for new jobs, travel, mobile phone contracts, buying a house and so on. It sometimes seems that the idea of privacy has been so lost anyway that ID cards are only a small step further. Go far enough down that route and you end up advocating Brin's Transparent Society as the only realistic solution to the conflicting requirements.
*sigh* - I'm not exactly fighting for my privacy at the moment, nor even really cheering those that do from the sidelines, more nodding approvingly as I read reports of the fights days later.