More rights for overseas domestic workers?

Overseas domestic workers (ODWs) in the UK may soon be granted the right to change their UK employer and to extend their visa for a period of up to two and a half years after its initial date of issue.

The independent review of the current ODW visa scheme was commissioned by the government after fears were voiced that many unskilled non-EEA domestic workers in the UK were suffering abuse and trafficking tantamount to modern slavery, compromising the integrity of the UK visa system.

Currently, ODW visa holders are tied to their UK employers for the duration of their six month visa and cannot extend their visa once this period has come to an end. The review suggests that it is this tie to their employer which is enabling the reported abuse.

The review recommends that all overseas domestic workers be granted:

• The right to change employer, provided they are in work as domestic workers in a private home; and
• The right to extend their visa beyond its initial six month validity up to a maximum duration of two and a half years.

Also notable is the recommendation that mandatory information meetings be held for all overseas domestic workers who remain in the UK for more than 42 days. This proposal has been met with much enthusiasm by Kalayaan (Justice for Migrant Workers), who insists that if they are delivered effectively, such meetings would be an important tool in preventing and ending abuse.

The government has stated that it intends to act upon the recommendations of the report by implementing them as part of the UK’s immigration rules.

This could soon mean that overseas domestic workers will soon find the UK a far more attractive place to work.