Foreign workers - does this woman have any rights?

[saadia]

Without wishing to give too much away for confidentiality reasons, does anyone know what rights workers have who come form abroad to work as domestic servants? I know of someone through school and her working conditions sound pretty unfair (eg never any time off). Her English is not very good so communication between us is not always clear, but I can't believe her employers are allowed to treat her like this.

[saadia]

I don't know eleusis, I guess she could but with her every waking moment accounted for I'm not sure how that could be arranged. I'm really not sure what the employers are like and how they would react if she just said that she wanted to keep her passport with her. And even then, if she did get leave to remain how would she get another job, her English is very poor and she has to work to support her family.

[eleusis]

Give her an English book so she can learn english better. She needs to find out what kind of visa she is here on. If nothing else she should write the Home office and say she has lost her paperwork, and could they tell her what her visa number is and how she can get her paperwork replaced? Could she give your address for this? If worst came to worst and the family found out and told her to leave, could you or someone else give her a place to stay until she could get her papers in order and find another job?

What do you mean by every waking hour is accounted for?
How much is she paid?
What are her duties?

I'm sure the collective Mumsnet can help this woman if she is really trapped in unreasonable working conditions.

Also I think if she has been here for years she can apply to stay longer... Oh, hold on... I think I read on the wen that domestic worker visas are issued for about 12 months. If that is so and she has been here for years is it possible she is working without a visa and doesn't know it?

Maybe she shouldn't go to the Home Office. I think she needs to get her hands on the paperwork the employers are holding. Could she think of a reason why her passport is needed? Perhaps a weekend away in France? (Assuming she gets a weekend off)

[saadia]

I agree I think she should be in possession of her passport. Will bring it up when I see her.

[PeachyFleshCrawlingWithBugs]

Given the details about not holding passport, no time opff etc the site I linked to earlier would know where to direct you for help (chap is a Professor in the subject so knows his stuff)- it might be worth an e-mail?

[peanutbutterkid]

I'll lay you money this woman gets NO DAYS off. And certainly no hours to go find an Embassy. Any pay she gets goes straight to her family back in the home country (probably far below our minimum wage). She may be over her visa date -- so what? If she queries it, she'll get deported, no penalty on her employer.

And her employer would probably confiscate the English book if they saw it....

There was a fascinating book out kind of recently about modern slavery, including this kind of domestic servitude.

[PeachyFleshCrawlingWithBugs]

peanut butter is that the one I mentioned below? (Disposable People)- I was given my copy by a teacher at a school I was mentoring at as his daughter worked for the chap who wrote it- scary but essential reading imo.

[peanutbutterkid]

Think it must be the same book, Peachy, I heard the author on the radio in last 6 months, so mistakenly thought it was a recent book.

He was so scarey, and gave an endless number of examples of types of modern slavery. For instance, think of those Chinese cockle pickers who died in Morecombe Bay -- they were effecitvely enslaved.... The other sad thing is how many people enter an indentured condition voluntarily, that's how bad their alternatives are.

[PeachyFleshCrawlingWithBugs]

1999, not that old in literature terms (course I usually end up quoting the Dhammapada, Bhagavad Gita or Qur'an so that's very modern indeed for me LOL)