Work Rights Centre

The Migration Advisory Committee has been commissioned by the government to review the Minimum Income Requirements. Nine months is a long time for a review, but it will be welcomed by many. https://lnkd.in/exGVDUs2

🎉 Major win for migrant care workers! Our client, Kirankumar Rathod, is set to receive a rare payout of interim relief: nearly £17,000 in unpaid wages and a monthly salary of £1,700 until his Employment Tribunal case concludes. This case is highly significant, not only because interim relief is incredibly rare and difficult to win, but because the judge also had to decide whether it was *legal* to make an order for the CCO, given the employer had lost their license to sponsor migrant workers. Kirankumar Rathod is suing his former employer after they failed to provide him with any work and then fired him. He had paid £22,000 to an 'immigration agent' in India who arranged a Skilled Worker visa and certificate of sponsorship for him. We have been approached by tens of migrant care workers in similar situations: scammed out of £000s to illegal recruiters, only to arrive in the UK to find no work and no pay. These sponsored workers can’t simply ‘get another job’ - their visa status is tied to their employer. And if they leave, they have just 60 days to find new work, or leave the country. “This case shows that redress is possible for the many people who have been wronged by the way the visa scheme has been operated”, said Kirankumar Rathod's solicitor Dr Sarmila Bose of the Work Rights Centre. #ukpolitics #migration #carework #healthandcare #visascams #employmenttribunal #employmentlaw https://lnkd.in/eu8GZuZY 

“It is in everyone’s interest that the technology which is adopted is lawful, fair and non-discriminatory,” PLP's Caroline Selman told The Observer last week. Details about AI & automated tools used by central government are now "due to be published shortly." Thanks to Jon Ungoed-Thomas for writing about the need for transparency around the Government's use of AI & automation, PLP's Tracking Automated Government register, and why PLP are currently acting for Work Rights Centre in a potential claim against the DWP. https://lnkd.in/eTRmfD-8

NEW OFFICIAL IMMIGRATION STATS show record-high punitive action against rule-breaking employers. While we welcome more action against exploitative employers, the sponsorship system means that migrant workers tied to that employer will lose their visa. This is grossly unfair. Home Office figures released today show that in Q2 2024, 1,023 actions were taken against Skilled Worker sponsors, the highest since records began in 2012. Thousands of migrant workers will be left in limbo, with just 60 days to find a new sponsor employer before their visa expires and they become overstayers. We need more safeguards for migrant workers whose immigration status is tied to their employer, and greater visa flexibility to enable them to find a new employer before their visa expires. Work visas should give migrant workers the freedom to change employers, and the ability to report exploitation and access remedy on the same terms as their British colleagues. Read our latest blog analysing the latest Home Office immigration data here: https://lnkd.in/edSxEK5n

Sixfold rise in foreign care workers in UK complaining of exploitation. Whilst sponsors are losing licences, there are no real solutions for victims beyond finding alternative employment. This is not easy despite what you may hear about vacancies. People I speak to have lost everything and are trapped. We Work Rights Centre are supporting and representing numerous people with claims against employers and applications to the Home Office. But it's not enough. I'm disappointed by the Government line in this piece. It is not enough to revoke licences. Support, prosecutions, status and compensation are significantly lacking. https://lnkd.in/eTvAVYmk

Today, the Government announced plans to sanction ‘unscrupulous employers hiring workers illegally’ and ‘remove those caught working illegally’. This sends the message that this Labour Government is more interested in immigration enforcement than protecting workers’ rights. Plus, the plans won't achieve Yvette Cooper's desired aims. The threat of deportation will only drive undocumented workers further underground and into more dangerous and exploitative conditions. Migrant workers can become undocumented for many reasons, including falling victim to a visa scam, having their visa cancelled without them knowing, or not having the means to obtain a new visa. Demonising migrants without a secure visa status is made more irresponsible in the context of the anti-immigrant violence of recent weeks. So, what SHOULD the government do to protect migrant workers? Give them the freedom to leave exploitative employers and take up jobs where their skills are valued, the safety to report labour abuses, and the ability to regularise their status. We’ve researched this at length. Read more in our Systemic Drivers report. #ukpolitics #migrantworkers #undocumentedmigrants #immigration #immigrationlaw https://lnkd.in/eJ3n57BA 

More than 50 people have sought our help after their Universal Credit payments were unexpectedly suspended. We are concerned the DWP's use of AI and automation may be discriminatory and/or unlawful. So, we have instructed the Public Law Project to start proceedings against the DWP. Read the pre-action letter here.

🚨NEW RESEARCH 🚨 Changes to the Ukraine visa schemes have torn apart families and left people in danger. Drawing on a survey of over 200 Ukrainians, we found that the changes to the Ukraine visa schemes have had a profoundly negative impact on the Ukrainian community, and urgent action is needed to prevent further loss of life. Contrary to the last government’s assertion that “Ukraine is no longer in an active migration crisis”, 191 people have told us they needed sanctuary for themselves, or a vulnerable family member. One of those people is Halyna, who has found safety and work in Weston-super-Mare, but has been separated from her 13-year-old son, Ihnat. She is no longer allowed to sponsor him under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, meaning he must stay with his grandparents, 5km from the Russian border. We are calling for an URGENT reversal of the rule changes to allow Ukrainians to sponsor their loved ones, and for the Ukraine Family Scheme to be reinstated. Read the report in full via link in comments. #Ukraine #refugees #refugeeswelcome #ukpolitics #immigration https://lnkd.in/e_FWZnqv

🚨NEW RESEARCH 🚨 Changes to the Ukraine visa schemes have torn apart families and left people in danger. Drawing on a survey of over 200 Ukrainians, we found that the changes to the Ukraine visa schemes have had a profoundly negative impact on the Ukrainian community, and urgent action is needed to prevent further loss of life. Contrary to the last government’s assertion that “Ukraine is no longer in an active migration crisis”, 191 people have told us they needed sanctuary for themselves, or a vulnerable family member. One of those people is Halyna, who has found safety and work in Weston-super-Mare, but has been separated from her 13-year-old son, Ihnat. She is no longer allowed to sponsor him under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, meaning he must stay with his grandparents, 5km from the Russian border. We are calling for an URGENT reversal of the rule changes to allow Ukrainians to sponsor their loved ones, and for the Ukraine Family Scheme to be reinstated. Read the report in full via link in comments. #Ukraine #refugees #refugeeswelcome #ukpolitics #immigration https://lnkd.in/e_FWZnqv

Good to see the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner highlighting possible solutions to tackle labour exploitation in the UK. This includes a well resourced new Fair Work Agency, giving migrant workers more than 60 days to change sponsors and noting Australia's recent pilot of a Workplace Justice Visa to allow migrant workers to remain in the country while they pursue labour claims - all measures Work Rights Centre and others in the sector have been pushing for some time now. Also positive to see a call to strengthen existing #modernslavery legislation, with nods to recent developments in Europe regarding the introduction of mandatory human rights due diligence. #labourexploitation #bizhumanrights #HRDD