News / asylum seekers
Call for Government to lift ban and grant asylum seekers the right to work
People who have fled conflict and persecution to seek safety in Britain face destitution because of work restrictions that have been branded “cruel and self-defeating”.
Currently, asylum seekers are banned from seeking employment while their claims are being processed. While the Home Office is supposed to reach a decision within six months, almost half (48 per cent) of cases wait longer, with some stretching on for years.
Bristol charities, organisations and MPs are among those calling on the Government to lift the ban and grant unrestricted right to work for all people seeking asylum after six months of having lodged a claim.
is needed now More than ever
Mother-of-two Rose* has been waiting for a decision on her initial asylum claim for three years and says that not being able to work all that time is “crippling”, rendering her unable to provide some of the basic things for her children.
Recent figures released by the Lift the Ban Coalition revealed that if half of those seeking asylum earned a national average wage, the UK economy could gain £42.4 million through tax and national insurance payments and savings on financial support.
Thangam Debbonaire says lifting the ban ‘will help to end needless poverty’
Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire spoke out on the matter during a Westminster debate on Wednesday. This was one of the key recommendation of the ‘Refugees Welcome?’ report that she chaired.
“Asylum seekers are currently banned from working and given just £5.39 a day to meet all their essential living costs,” Debbonaire told Bristol24/7.
“This inability to work results in most asylum seekers struggling to make ends meet; is a pointless waste of the skills they bring to our country; and limits their integration into local communities.
“Lifting the ban will help to end needless poverty, bring us in line with many other countries, and improve the integration of refugees.”
Praising the work of the Lift the Ban coalition, a group of 65 organisations including charities, trade unions, think tanks, faith groups and businesses, she added: “I’m hopeful that common sense will prevail soon.”
Bristol-based ACH, a leading provider of resettlement and integration services for refugee and newly-arrived communities in the UK, is one of the organisations backing the campaign.
“We have the opportunity to change policy and improve people’s lives thanks to the launch of the Lift the Ban coalition,” said ACH’s Rose Adderley.
“Denying asylum seekers the right to work is not only a waste of their skills, it is also a wasted opportunity for UK businesses.”
Currently, people seeking asylum can only apply for permission to work if they have been waiting for a decision for over 12 months, and even then, only for jobs that are on the Government’s Shortage Occupation List – a severely restrictive list that includes jobs such as classical ballet dancer, nuclear medicine practitioner and geo-environmental specialist.
The Lift the Ban coalition has launched a petition calling on the Government to change its policy.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Stephen Hale from Refugee Action said: “It’s madness that people fleeing the horrors of conflict and persecution are unable to work for long periods after they arrive in the UK.
“It is deeply damaging to those it affects, makes integration far harder, and is bad for the economy and public finances. Lifting the ban has strong public support.
“People seeking asylum tell us every day that they feel worthless and that being unable to use their skills over a long period of time forces them to be dependent.”
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady added: “This ban is cruel and self-defeating. People seeking asylum must be given the right to work and contribute. These damaging restrictions are in no-one’s interest.”
*Name has been changed to protect her anonymity.
Read more: Bristol West MP: ‘Two-tier refugee system is a costly missed opportunity’
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
