UK: Migrant workers must be protected from deception and exploitation say UN experts

GENEVA (3 June 2024) – UN experts* today expressed alarm at the systemic exposure of migrant workers in the UK to protection risks related to deception, exorbitant recruitment fees, debt bondage, undignified living conditions, and potential deportation.

“According to allegations received, migrants are deceived about working and living conditions and the nature of their agreements with employers in the agricultural or care sectors. This is unlawful and highlights the need for urgent reform of the current system governing labour migration, to ensure effective protection of the rights of migrant workers,” the experts said.

They were concerned about the shortcomings of the Seasonal Worker Scheme, which was put in place to cover labour shortages in the UK. Licensed recruitment companies, known as “scheme operators”, recruit migrants from many countries to work on farms or in poultry production. Some recruitment agents illegally charge more than £3,000 to secure employment in the UK, pushing the affected workers into debt bondage. Other migrants arrive in the country with a job promised in the agricultural or care sector, only to find that no work is available to them.

While the experts acknowledged the Government’s efforts in revoking the licences of non-compliant employers in the care sector, they expressed deep concern about the lack of safeguards for workers who are left without a job if their employer’s licence is withdrawn. In such circumstances, many are allegedly threatened with deportation, while some of the migrants may be victims of trafficking in persons and other forms of exploitation, requiring assistance, protection, and access to compensation.

“The Government needs to hold scheme operators accountable through effective supervision and audits, as well as regular labour inspections on farms, protecting against human rights abuse by business enterprises domiciled in its territory, in line with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Perpetrators of labour exploitation must be prosecuted, and access to justice and effective remedies must be guaranteed to victims. Currently, too many temporary migrant workers have been in a legal limbo for too long and risk becoming destitute,” the experts said.

They urged the UK to govern labour migration more effectively by adopting adequate policies and safeguards, preventing deception, stepping up efforts to identify, protect, and assist victims of exploitation and prevent trafficking for purposes of labour exploitation, and upholding the country’s international human rights obligations.

The experts previously engaged with the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Haygrove Limited, and Fruitful Jobs on the above issues of concern, and the Government and the two companies provided replies to the allegations raised.

*The experts: Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences; Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; Gehad Madi, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants and Robert McCorquodale (Chair-Rapporteur), Fernanda Hopenhaym (Vice-Chair), Pichamon Yeophantong, Damilola Olawuyi, Elzbieta Karska, Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises;

The Special Rapporteur, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council's independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures' experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.