James Ewins’ independent review of the Overseas Domestic Worker visa, published in December 2015, calls for an end to the current system which ties workers to their employers. 

ATLEU are recruiting volunteers to support our casework and our clients.  We are at the forefront of the vital and fast-moving area of trafficking, bringing high profile strategic challenges that shape the way the law develop.

An ATLEU client has finally received over £300,000 in compensation from her former traffickers after years of battling them in the British courts. 

Statistics from the Ministry of Justice reveal a 90% fall in the number of not-for-profit legal aid providers within a year of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 coming into effect.

James Ewins’ independent review of the Overseas Domestic Worker visa released today calls for an end to the current system which ties workers to their employers. 

The Modern Slavery Act does nothing to address the tying of migrant domestic workers to their employer because of immigration rules; a system which has repeatedly been evidenced to facilitate their abuse. 

The area of law which involves protection of the person can routinely subject lawyers and legal representatives to secondary trauma, burnout and compassion fatigue.

In September 2013, government proposed that anyone with uncertain or no immigration status within the previous year, or anyone not living here in the last 12 months, would be ineligible for legal aid.

Following our campaign with the charity Kalayaan and Justice for Domestic Workers, this year the Home Office changed its rules so that visas for overseas domestic workers will not be granted unless the employer agrees to pay the National Minimum Wage.

Following a nationwide campaign during the passage of the Modern Slavery Act, the government has agreed to a review of the Overseas Domestic Worker visa and promised to follow its recommendations.

The government has introduced a restriction on the right to recover the National Minimum Wage. This new restriction, while not aimed at victims of trafficking, is likely to impact overwhelmingly upon them.

The government has set out new plans to tackle labour exploitation but we are concerned about the lack of detail in these proposals and in their explanation about why existing enforcement tools are not being used to full effect before new ones are introduced.