UK gives modern slavery victims on skilled worker visas

The UK government has announced new protections that will allow recognised victims of modern slavery on Skilled Worker Visas to leave exploitative employers and take up jobs elsewhere without putting their immigration status at risk, report different British media outlets.  

Under a scheme introduced by Boris Johnson’s Conservative government in 2021 to address post-Brexit labour shortages, the immigration status of Skilled Worker Visa holders is tied to their sponsoring employer.

This meant that workers with no recourse to public funds risked having to leave the UK if they lost their jobs and could not quickly secure another sponsoring employer.

“No victim of modern slavery should be trapped with an exploitative employer because of their immigration status. From today, recognised victims on Skilled Worker visas can leave abusive employers and work elsewhere without risking their immigration status,” the UK Home Office said on Thursday.

Under the new measures, any worker formally recognised as a victim of modern slavery will be allowed to work for any employer for the remainder of their visa.

Workers are recognised as victims of modern slavery through the National Referral Mechanism; a framework used to identify and support victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.

According to UK media reports, activists have warned that the sponsorship system was being exploited by rogue employers who took advantage of workers’ precarious immigration status to subject them to labour exploitation, including long working hours and low pay.

In an article published last week, The Guardian reported that the number of employers being stripped of their licences to sponsor workers over abuses had surged to record levels.

More than 6,600 sponsors have had their licences revoked since the Labour Party came to power. Of these, more than 4,400 lost their licences in the year to June 2026, representing a 140 per cent increase from the previous year.

According to the UN, modern slavery is an umbrella term covering practices such as forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage and human trafficking.

It refers to situations of exploitation in which a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception and/or abuse of power.

The new measures are expected to benefit healthcare workers, chefs and hospitality workers who moved to the UK in search of better livelihoods.

“No victim of modern slavery should be trapped with an exploitative employer because of their immigration status. These changes will give victims the freedom to leave abusive workplaces and rebuild their lives. While we support them, we are also cracking down on those responsible. Rogue sponsors who exploit workers will face the full force of the law,” said Jo White, the Minister for Migration and Citizenship.

There were 111000 Skilled Worker Visas granted last year, a 76 per cent drop from the peak recorded in the year ending December 2023.