WoRC Work Rights Centre

Work Rights Centre responds to the DLME's Enforcement Strategy 2024/25 Call for Evidence

By Olivia Vicol & Adis Sehic - 04 September 2023

Today, the Work Rights Centre has submitted written evidence to the Director of Labour Market Enforcement (DLME) in relation to its Labour Market Enforcement Strategy 2024/25.

The role of the DLME was created in 2017 to bring together a coherent assessment of the extent of labour market exploitation, identifying routes to tackle exploitation and harnessing the strength of the three main enforcement bodies: HMRC National Minimum Wage; the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA); and the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS). Each year the Director submits a Labour Market Enforcement Strategy to Government to set priorities for the three main enforcement bodies.

Our evidence submission provides information under the four broad themes used by the DLME as a structure for identifying and tackling labour market non-compliance. These include:

  1. Improving the radar picture to have a better understanding of the non-compliance threat
  2. Improving focus and effectiveness of the compliance and enforcement work of the three bodies under the DLME’s remit
  3. Better joined-up thinking to minimise the opportunities for exploitation of gaps in employment protection
  4. Improving engagement with employers and support for workers

Our submission provides evidence on the exploitation of migrant workers in a number of different sectors including agriculture, social care, construction and others. We also look at some of the most pressing factors causing or exacerbating migrant worker exploitation, including under resourcing across the UK’s labour market enforcement bodies and the prevalence of employer-tied visa schemes.

We continue in our calls for the Government to adopt a Migrant Worker Welfare Strategy, to recognise the contributions of migrant workers, at the same time as addressing the specific factors that lead to their exploitation. You can read our full evidence submission here.

To support the Work Rights Centre in our efforts to assist migrant workers, please consider making a donation or following us on social media.

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