Last week a flight due to take asylum seekers to Rwanda was cancelled minutes before take-off. With a final decision to come on whether that policy will stand over the long term, it’s important to consider how we could improve our approach to supporting asylum seekers here in the UK if it doesn’t.

This year’s Refugee Week’s theme is ‘healing’ - ‘recovering from a painful experience so that we can continue to live.’ Being able to work in a new country is a vital part of healing, offering financial and economic independence. With this in mind, it is crucial that we break down the barriers preventing refugees and asylum seekers from accessing the UK labour market.

We need a systematic approach to supporting refugees in the labour market.

According to the UNHCR statistics, as of mid-2021, there were 135,912 refugees and 83,489 pending asylum cases and 3,968 stateless persons in the UK. When compared against the EU member states, the UK ranked 7^th in the absolute number of people to whom it gave protection in 2020. If we are talking about a Britain playing an important role, creating a welcoming place for refugees cannot be off the table.

And being able to work is crucial in creating a welcoming place. People who receive ‘refugee’ status are able to work in the UK. While refugees hold varying levels of skills and work experience, low levels of English language is often one of the main barriers to accessing the labour market.

To tackle this issue, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) provides English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes to migrants in England. However, funding for ESOL providers across England has shrunk sharply from £212m in 2008 to £105m in 2018.

This means many providers cannot provide adequate courses to refugees who are willing to learn or develop their English. ESOL courses are more successful when they are tailored to the needs of each group; for example, the language learning needs of Afghan refugees and Hong Kong British Nationals Overseas can be hugely different. Some people might benefit from long-run courses whereas other may require a shorter intensive course. However, with the lack of resources, it becomes even more difficult to support refugees’ distinct needs.

But improving English language support is only one piece of the puzzle. Not having work experience in the host country, limited personal networks and cultural barriers could all also prevent refugees from finding work. Mentoring schemes, tailored support and access to training can all play a role in tackling these challenges. A national integration strategy policy for integration would be able to give clarity on where the responsibility should lie and develop strategies to improve refugees’ access to labour market.

The situation for asylum seekers is even more difficult.

Before 2002, asylum seekers could also apply for permission to work after six months. However, currently, those who claim asylum in the UK are often not allowed to work while their claim is being considered. The Home Office may grant an asylum seeker permission to work if their claim has been outstanding for more than 12 months through no fault of their own. Individuals in these circumstances are restricted to applying for specific jobs on the official shortage occupation list.

This means that those seeking asylum have to live on the £5.84 per day paid by the Government. They are also provided with accommodation and support to meet their essential living needs if they would otherwise be destitute. By not giving work permission to asylum seekers we are not only delaying their integration to our labour market, making them dependent on daily vouchers but also spending tax payers’ money. This is absolutely bizarre, when we also consider all the staff shortage and job vacancies experienced across the country.

On top of this limitation, the Government has published their New Plan for Immigration and a Nationality and Borders Bill into law. These will create an even more complicated system, where people seeking asylum are treated differently based on the way they came to the UK.

There is broad public and political support for a move to allow asylum seekers the right to work.

Lift the Ban is a coalition of 260-member organisations including trade unions, businesses, faith groups and think tanks campaigning to realise this ambition. The campaign argues that a change in policy could benefit the UK economy, through net gains for the Government of £97.8 million per year.

Public attitudes can play a vital role in shaping the support available to refugees and asylum seekers. That has illustrated clearly over recent months, with strong public support influencing Government’s approach to supporting Ukrainian refugees, which involved an immediate right to work in the UK. Encouragingly, a YouGov poll conducted in March 2022 found that 81% of the public support a right to work for people seeking asylum in the UK.

Supporting refugees and asylum seekers’ participation in the labour market can benefits both the individual and the UK economy. We should rethink our approach to regulation and employment support to open up work for those who come to the UK to heal and recover.

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