Over the past few months, Right to Remain have been deepening our learning on the experiences of migrant workers in the UK. Through research, conversations with experts, and many shared lived experiences, we have a clearer picture of the many complex challenges faced by migrant workers. We have also observed a lack of understanding of these issues – by politicians, wider society, and even many migrant justice organisations. 

This blog shines a spotlight on work visa issues, as a way of further sharing this knowledge. It provides a very brief overview of the recent developments to the UK visa system, as well as the typical process of applying for a work visa. 

As this overview shows, the problems faced by migrant workers in the UK are structural, multi-faceted and complex. It is clear that inequality and racial injustice are baked into the work visa system. This will come as no surprise to many, as reports have shown that people from minority ethnic backgrounds are disproportionately more likely to experience benefit sanctions (be barred from accessing benefits) than white claimants, and the UK’s immigration system itself has been shown to be racist by design. This is no justification – we demand that the racist work visa system and immigration system is dismantled.

In the meantime, we believe that through a better understanding of the issues faced by migrant workers in the UK, we can more effectively campaign for better workers’ rights for all.

The development of the UK work visa system

Brexit – and the end of EU free movement to the UK for work and study – revealed huge gaps in the UK’s labour market. Key industries, such as health and social care and farming and agriculture, which were traditionally reliant on EU migrant labour, were left understaffed and struggling. 

To plug these gaps, the UK introduced specific immigration visa routes for workers to enter the UK on a work visa. This was done through the introduction of ‘tied visas’.

Tied visas

Tied visas are work visas which mean that an employee is tied to a specific employer. For example, a skilled worker entering the UK on a Health and Social Care Visa must have a visa sponsor – their employer – who agrees to sponsor the worker for the entire period. 

There has been a huge increase in the numbers of people arriving in the UK on tied visas in recent years. In the care sector alone over the last 2 years, 185,000 international recruits from 130 nationalities have joined the workforce and filled vital roles, including thousands of people from Nigeria, India and Zimbabwe.

Dependency 

This system of tied visas means that workers are dependent on their specific employer as their visa sponsor. A person’s immigration permission to stay in the UK is directly tied to their employer. If a worker loses their job, they have just 60 days to find a new job, and a new sponsor in order to stay in the UK. If the employer loses their sponsorship licence, the worker’s visa will also be curtailed (cut short). 

This dependency has consequences. The organisation Work Rights Centre describes how this system ‘entrenches the power imbalance between migrant workers and employers’. As reported by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, this dependency means that migrant workers are often ‘scared to raise concerns about their manager or employer’, because they are afraid of negative consequences on their employment, and their immigration status in the UK.

Threat of immigration enforcement 

In addition to the system of tied visas, the broader context is a system of immigration enforcement by the Home Office which clearly prioritises ‘immigration compliance’ over workers’ rights and wellbeing.

In recent months we have seen a renewed focus by the Home Office to ‘crack down’ on illegal working, in the form of workplace raids, such as those in Bristol.

The constant threat of workplace raids creates a very real sense of fear in migrant workers that they could be at risk of falling foul of an immigration offence. This fear in turns makes migrant workers less likely to raise issues at work for fear of their employer losing their sponsor licence. 

Immigration enforcement is no distant threat – the latest Home Office statistics show a huge increase in the numbers of skilled worker sponsor licences which have been revoked or suspended. As demonstrated in recent weeks, it is increasingly likely that Home Office officials will arrive at workplaces to carry out ‘compliance checks’.  

No Recourse to Public Funds

Those in the UK on work visas will have a ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ (NRPF) condition on their visa, which means that workers cannot access any public funds such as housing support, child benefits, universal credit and income support. 

What this means is that migrant workers who are not earning enough to support themselves or their families are unable to access state support, and frequently experience destitution as a result. For some workers, their NRPF condition will trap them in exploitative employment, and others who have been dismissed are left without any safety net.

We have heard many reports of migrant workers in this position relying on foodbanks and other charity support.

Two-tiered workforce and higher risk of exploitation

This dependency on specific employers, created by the introduction of tied visas, and exacerbated by the threat of immigration enforcement and NRPF, contributes to the creation of a two-tiered workforce. This means that rights and entitlements at work are not experienced equally by all employees. It is undeniably the case that migrant workers are at much greater risk of work exploitation and abuse. We have heard reports of workplaces in which payments are withheld from migrant workers, while British workers are paid, and British workers are treated differently by employees.

Reports by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Guardian have demonstrated the many risks of exploitation. We have also written in detail about the risks of work exploitation and migrant workers rights in our Toolkit page.

What are common experiences of applying for a work visa?

• The first stage of applying for a work visa to enter the UK is usually in the applicant’s home country. Agencies will advertise positions, and the applicant will apply to the agency. Often, the agency will charge recruitment fees – in some cases as much as £20,000. Many workers will have sold their assets and taken out loans to cover these initial costs.
  
• After securing their visa through the recruitment agency, workers will arrive in the UK. Often, workers arrive with little to no money, ready to work to pay back debts they have incurred during recruitment.
  
• Upon arrival to the UK, some workers have found that their employer doesn’t exist, or that the work they were promised is not available. There are many cases of exaggerated and incorrect job descriptions for sponsored workers.
  
• Some workers experience problems at work, including reports of severe exploitation, insufficient pay and poor conditions, and other breaches of UK employment law. Many are frightened to raise these issues for fear of being dismissed.
  
• Some workers also experience problems with their accommodation, including people made to repay large sums of money for their accommodation.
  
• Some workers develop health conditions upon arriving in the UK – some as a direct result of the stress of their work situation. This causes huge problems if they are later charged for the healthcare they receive. Some people have their leave curtailed, and are expected to return to their home country, but are too unwell to travel.
  
• We have heard other reports of workers who are discriminated against due to pregnancy – including not given work even when able, and not being paid statutory maternity pay.
  

Share, support and stay connected

As this blog outlines, there are many ways the UK work visa system places migrant workers at risk of exploitation and other forms of harm.

Through our work, we have also observed a lack of good quality support to navigate these issues. Many workers are affected by insufficient or poor quality support and advice. There is an ongoing lack of legal avenues for support for people experiencing problems at work due to their immigration status. Often when private immigration firms do offer assistance, it is expensive and insufficient. 

If you work in the support sector, share the Right to Remain Toolkit pages on Work Exploitation and Migrant Workers’ Rights, and Visas. You can also share details of casework organisations that can support – such as those listed in our Directory. Share the work of other organisations such as the Work Rights Centre. 

If you would like to get in touch to talk about these issues, please contact our Legal Education Officer Leah on leah@righttoremain.org.uk.