Student Action for Refugees The national network of student groups working to improve the lives of refugees in the UK.

Let Them Work

STAR is campaigning for the government to let people seeking asylum work.

Since 2002, the government has refused permission for almost everyone claiming asylum to work.

The Let Them Work campaign is dedicated to highlighting the injustices experienced by thousands of asylum seekers who are forced into poverty and isolation by being denied the right to work.

Granting permission to work is a key aim of the Still Human Still Here campaign, calling on the government to end the enforced destitution of people who have been refused asylum.

Campaign Supporters: Student Action for Refugees (STAR), Refugee Council, TUC, Brighter Futures, Still Human Still Here and Barnardo’s.

The problem

• The government refuses asylum seekers the right to work, and expects them to live on financial assistance which stands at 70% of income support. This forces asylum seekers into dependence on government assistance; they are not ‘scroungers’ who come to Britain with a desire to live off benefits.

• Asylum seekers come to Britain in search of sanctuary and protection from persecution. They are not economic migrants who come to Britain in pursuit of a job.

• Over 280,000 refused asylum seekers are living in the UK. They are denied permission to work, and deprived of government support, which forces them into destitution. This policy is an attempt to starve asylum seekers into returning to their home countries. This is both inhumane and ineffective.

What you can do

• Sign the Let Them Work campaign pledge online now!

• Ask your MP to:
  • sign the Early Day Motion supporting the right to work.
  • sign the campaign pledge online (see above)
  • write to Phil Woolas, Immigration Minister, either expressing support for entitlement to work or raising your concern as a constituent

Resources

Information

• Campaign Briefing

• Right to work info sheet

Materials

• STAR campaign leaflet

• Let Them Work Logos

• LTW campaign pledge

Tools

• Template letter to MPs

• Guide to Lobbying MPs

• Dealing with Difficult Questions

• Model motion for organisations to debate

News

Go to our News page to find out about the latest developments in the campaign, how it is viewed in the media and what the government is doing.

Films

Watch some short films on the right to work and learn more about the campaign and what is happening.

Further information

This section includes reports to inform you about the campaign and the issues of destitution and the right to work in the UK as well as other places to find information.

• The Refugee Council hosts the Let Them Work campaign webpage, with information about the campaign, some recent news, and the key online actions for you to take.
  • Check out their frequently asked questions
  • Have a read of some case studies

• Briefings and reports on the right to work
  • Asylum Rights Watch: Right to Work
  • Right to work: Social exclusion, refugee integration, and the right to work for asylum seekers.
  • Permission to work for asylum seekers

• Real life stories
  • Regional Refugee Forum North East has a page of powerful case studies on the impact of denying the right to work for asylum seekers.