Overseas Domestic Workers (Hansard, 17 October 2001)

§ Lord Rooker

There is a longstanding concession, outside the Immigration Rules, enabling overseas employers coming to the United Kingdom to bring their domestic workers with them, if they need to do so.

Changes to the conditions under which overseas domestic workers could be admitted to the United Kingdom were laid before the House on 23 July 1998. The primary objective of those changes was to deal with concerns about reports of abuse suffered by such workers. Responding to those concerns while minimising scope for immigration abuse presented a difficult balance. We therefore undertook at the time to review the changes in the light of operational experience.

Following this review, a number of changes are being made with effect from today which we shall include in the Immigration Rules at a suitable opportunity.

In response to concerns raised by the employers of domestic workers, the level of duties needing to be performed by the worker will no longer have to exceed those set down in the International Labour Organisation's International Standard Classfication of Occupations.

We remain concerned at reports of abuse of domestic workers accompanying their employers to the United Kingdom and have discussed with Kalayaan, the organisation that represents overseas domestic workers, how this can be prevented. We have decided to continue allowing domestic workers to change employer but will be asking any that do so to inform the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in writing, outlining their reasons for doing so, at the earliest opportunity. This will enable officials to monitor any possible abuse of the concession by either 94WA individuals or employers and, if detected, liaise with other departments to ascertain whether any action could be taken.

We are also clarifying what is meant in the concession by the meaning of "household". Some United Kingdom-based employers have long argued that, although they reside here, they maintain a household abroad and therefore domestic workers currently working in their overseas residence should qualify under this concession. We will make clear that a domestic worker wishing to come to the United Kingdom is expected to have been carrying out domestic duties under the same roof as their employer for 12 months before applying for entry clearance, or in a household that the employer uses for himself on a regular basis and where there is clear evidence of a connection between employer and employee. The domestic worker will also be expected to travel to the United Kingdom with their employer, their employer's spouse or minor child.

This definition should make it clear that the concession is not intended to allow employers who are resident here to recruit domestic workers from overseas. It will also benefit those employers who regularly divide their time between two houses.