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Vulnerability of paid migrant, live-in, care workers in London to modern slavery

This project aims to raise awareness of, and understand how to prevent, extreme forms of labour exploitation and abuse, including modern slavery, among paid live-in carers.

Duration: February 2021- July 2022

Funder:

Trust for London

Partners:

Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX)

Key people:

• Dr Caroline Emberson
• Dr Shereen Hussein, Professor of Health and Social Care, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• Dr Agnes Turnpenny, Consultant, Institute of Public Health, Oxford Brookes University

Research summary

Background:

In London, a reliance upon non-British nationals is coupled with a rise in the use of on-line platforms and introductory agencies leading to the emergence of a gig economy for paid care-work. At the time of the study, despite demand outstripping supply, proposed changes to UK immigration policy mean EU nationals hoping to migrate to the UK for jobs paying less than £25,600 a year (a salary threshold that excludes the majority of paid care-work) will no longer be able to do so through official routes.

The anticipated rise in an informal job market increases live-in care-worker vulnerability and the potential for employment rights violations, including extreme forms of coercion and abuse such as modern slavery, a crime which disproportionately affects those from migrant communities. Despite this, the working lives of, particularly live-in, paid migrant care-workers, some of whom are circular migrants and many who are extremely isolated, remain unexamined and their voices unheard in national policy debates.

Working collaboratively, we will tailor FLEX’s community and peer research models to build evidence of and identify, support and prevent, human rights abuses related to labour exploitation and domestic servitude among paid, live-in migrant care workers in London.

The focus throughout is participatory research, advisory-capacity building and advocacy work with paid, live in carers and personal assistants from migrant communities in London.

Research findings