Court Rules Home Office Wrong to Stop Asylum Seekers Working in UK

London: A trafficked woman who asked a judge for the right to work as a cleaner has won a landmark victory in the high court. The ruling on Friday 18th December 2020, paves the way for tens of thousands who are denied the right to work by the Home Office to have their requests to take up jobs considered. Asylum seekers and victims of trafficking are generally denied the right to work by the Home Office. Many wait several years for their cases to be determined. There is a record backlog of 60,548 people waiting for an initial decision on their asylum claim, with 76% of people waiting more than six months for a decision.

The trafficking victim, 35, was brought to the UK on 31 December 2017. After escaping from her traffickers and approaching the Home Office for protection the Home Office locked her up in an immigration detention centre and said there were no reasonable grounds that she was a victim of trafficking. In his ruling on Friday, Mr Justice Bourne considered the wider issues about the right to work for asylum seekers and victims of trafficking. He found that the lack of reference to discretion to grant permission to work in the Home Office guidance created a real risk that requests for work may not be properly considered. He said: “The limitation makes it much harder and in many cases impossible for an individual to obtain paid work. It may prevent them from working at all thereby exposing them to a risk of isolation and affecting their self-esteem.” Both asylum seekers and victims of trafficking have expressed frustration at being barred from working when they are fit and able to do so.

Read more: Diane Taylor, Guardian, https://is.gd/vrPJrw