Victims of modern slavery to be allowed to work for remainder of visa
Modern Slavery Victims: The government has made changes to the Skilled Worker visa sponsorship system to better protect migrant workers who have fallen prey to modern slavery.
Under the new measures victims will be able to work in any occupation for the rest of their visa, so they are not bound by the control of exploitative employers.
Migration and Citizenship Minister Announces Amendments
Migration and Citizenship Minister Jo White announced the amendments to combat abuse in the workplace. “The sponsorship system is designed to make sure overseas recruits have a real job to come to, will be paid properly and can enjoy their employment rights,” she said. But we have seen examples of Skilled Worker visa holders who have come to the UK in good faith, been compliant with the rules of their visa and have been exploited. “This is just not good enough.”
“There is a crackdown underway on rogue employers and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) has already revoked over 7,500 sponsor licences, including 1,800 in the care sector,” said White.
“The new policy is aimed at encouraging victims to report early and preventing those who want to weaponise the sponsorship system to exploit vulnerable workers,” she said.
Work Rights Center Welcomes Update
Migrant workers charity the Work Rights Center (WRC) welcomed the update, but head executive Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol said fundamental difficulties remained.
She said that the recognised bar for contemporary slavery was high and often excluded victims of wage theft or recruiting fee fraud.
Vicol said the government needed to move beyond cancelling licences and instead pursue criminal charges and hefty fines for visa sponsors who exploit migrant workers financially or through labour.
Calls for Compensation for Exploited Workers
“Also, encouraging workers to report labour exploitation is only half the battle, victims need real restitution,” Vicol added, pointing out the years it took to put in place this protection, during which time many workers were plunged into terrible poverty. She called on ministers to go beyond the withdrawal of licences and pursue criminal prosecutions of rogue firms, with financial penalties used to establish a dedicated worker compensation system. She warned that without these steps the new freedom may still be out of reach for many who need it.
“Ministers need to go further than pulling sponsors’ licences. We encourage the Home Office to punish and prosecute unscrupulous companies and use the penalty funds to set up a dedicated worker compensation mechanism. “Elevating the consequences for bad actors is the only way to prevent future abuse and deliver real justice to those who lost everything.”
The WRC wants the government to extend the National Referral Mechanism remit to include serious labour abuses and recruitment fee fraud.
It also suggests that ministers set up a compensation plan for workers, paid by financial fines collected by non-compliant sponsors whose licences have been revoked.