Asylum seekers- time to Lift the Ban

Many will have skills and they will find jobs that use those skills, however work that involves meeting UK skill levels or criminal record checks is going to be more difficult and certainly not quick.

Many are not unskilled. Some are hairdressers or translators (especially from Afghanistan). Some have the language skills to work in offices, retail or engineering. Some have high level skills in medicine or teaching, although I agree it might be difficult to prove qualifications. Please don't think of asylum-seekers as ignorant savages!

It does make sense to allow them to work. Here as soon as their refugee claim is accepted for processing (not approved) they can apply for a temporary work visa. I don't know what type of work that would allow them to do, but assuming unskilled, since they cannot prove any school or trade.

But certainly working at a farm, in hospitality or manufacturing would boost moral for the claimants and take some financial burden off the government.

Carer shortage! Have you seen them

I did a weekly clinic a few yearsat an asylum seekers centre....the families arrived in home office transport...often straight from Heathrow Airport.....they had nhs numbers generated....and were provided with accommodation and the daily £5 ....apart from that they used food banks and charity donations to get by.....I used to immunise the children, take blood for blood spot screening ....provide public health information.....i enjoyed it.....but very sad listening to some of the stories.... they only stayed a few weeks then got moved to other cities

MerylStreep

Calendargirl

Why do some of them destroy their passports and papers?

A genuine question. Surely it must make things simpler to have correct documentation?

So why do it?

The reason some destroy documents is because, let’s say you are from Iraq where there is no war going on but your really an Iranian. They both speak Arabic.
The person from Iraq could be denied Asylum as someone might not see a problem within that country, where as someone from Iran might be looked upon more sympathetically.

People from Iran speak Farsi. They will have a knowledge of Arabic, but Arabic has different dialects and Iraqis speak a specific one.

The decision should not take years. It is a disgrace. Get more civil servants trained and deployed to assess claims I good ti.e. three months should be the limit.

I see no reason not to employ refugees while they await a decison (which, given the state of the Home Office, may take years), especially if they have paperwork showing qualifications, etc. We are an ageing population and we need young workers wherever they come from. The Tory rhetoric on immigration is barmy when you look at staff shortages in hospitality, retail, NHS, and other sectors.

We have such a centre in our town, 12 miles outside a city. The bus fare is approx just over £5,

Calendargirl

Why do some of them destroy their passports and papers?

A genuine question. Surely it must make things simpler to have correct documentation?

So why do it?

The reason some destroy documents is because, let’s say you are from Iraq where there is no war going on but your really an Iranian. They both speak Arabic.
The person from Iraq could be denied Asylum as someone might not see a problem within that country, where as someone from Iran might be looked upon more sympathetically.

the asylum seeker i knew was not an illegal immigrant, had all papers and the process still took over 5 years.
legal processes, finding a solicitor, applications for legal aid, court time, availability of counsel, briefing them, specialist reports, adjournments etc.
it all takes time.
and the applicant had to sign on every ? 2 weeks.
was sent to an outlandish centre, where she saw v old infirm people having to stand in the rain for hours, being rudely spoken to by security guards.
it was on an industrial estate, middle of nowhere.
severe sanctions for being one minute late, inc threat of detention centre, as not complying with home office procedures.
having to get bus, tube, train, bus, and then walk for 20-25 minutes, to be there early in morning, so many waiting to sign on, hence waiting in rain.
there was a centre near a station she could have got one tube to, but no, not allowed. it's deliberate.

Calendargirl

Why do some of them destroy their passports and papers?

A genuine question. Surely it must make things simpler to have correct documentation?

So why do it?

The people smugglers often take the passports and papers if pole have them for two reasons.

1. they can force them into illegal slavery

and relevant to the discussion here:

2. the people smugglers are protecting themselves from being identified too and letting people arrive with passports and papers can leave a paper trail to ID the smugglers.

They are told to destroy their paperwork or in many cases have their passports etc taken from them. By destroying them it is harder to send someone back to a country as they have no proof they were citizens. I also think with the smugglers keeping the passports and birth certificates they sell them on, after all there is a market for them

sodapop

I refer you to the Original Post volver

The OP doesn't say that Asylum Seekers should all become carers. The OP says that if Asylum Seekers were allowed to work that could be one way out of the issue we have with the number of carers. You have put 2 and 2 together and made 5.

See Dickens' post at 16:53.

Why do some of them destroy their passports and papers?

A genuine question. Surely it must make things simpler to have correct documentation?

So why do it?

I refer you to the Original Post volver

Agreed Dickens

We are focusing on carers because of the crisis in the NHS - the so-called 'bed-blockers' who can't be sent home because there are not enough carers to look after them.

But there are staff shortages everywhere.

If they were allowed to work - I'm sure ASs would be asked what training they already had - and just as important - what job they felt capable of doing.

We shouldn't surely just assume that x-number can do this or that job. Same with the unemployed - there are numerous job vacancies, but people really do have to be suited to the job. And feel that it's within their capabilities - regardless of what it is.

But it does seem a shame that there are those who want to work, and can't... and there will I'm sure definitely be wasted talent.

I think many asylum seekers with qualifications and papers would be willing to work in any sector just so that they can contribute and integrate into this country. Quite a few already work in the voluntary sector, some with children.

The concept that most asylum seekers are men is wrong. 43% of asylum seekers are families, 8% are unaccompanied children. So even if there were no single women (and there are many) less than 50% are single men.

At present they survive on just over £5 a day. They are costing £300 million a year. They want to contribute. Caring would be one way, but lifting the ban on employment would give us many highly motivated people willing to work.

Given that the friends I have that are asylum seekers are a primary school teacher and a nurse, I think they'd be fine retraining as carers.

Don't assume all asylum seekers are skill-less and professionless.

I assumed no such thing GagaJo. Do your friends want to work as carers? If so, I am pleased to read that you think they should be trained to do the job first.

You have to be in Uk for 5years to get a dbs to work in a school and other jobs after living abroad for 16 ( I am British) I got it quicker by getting a letter from police in country I was in stated I had never been in trouble .

Shinamae

Glorianny

Shinamae

Parsley3

The job of being a carer should not be seen as a useful way of employing asylum seekers. It is an important service and people being cared for deserve to have properly trained staff who choose to do the job.

As a carer myself I totally agree with you…

I agree but why not offer them training and then employ them?
There will be other jobs of course but we are currently experiencing a carer shortage. There were 165000 vacancies for carers. Asylum seekers want to work, we need carers.

And we are experiencing a shortage of carers because the wages are appalling, mostly just minimum wage and the work is hard and getting harder…. I have no problem with foreign staff except for the language, (The English is not usually good and even if it is it is so heavily accented that staff can’t understand them never mind the poor residents but what do we do we need feet on the floor )we now have more Indian staff than English because the English don’t want to work for the pittance that is paid.

Of course carers should be paid more. But even if the wage was increased would the vacancies be filled?

sodapop

I too am appalled at the assumption of some posters that any one without a job should become a carer. Surely the most vulnerable in our society deserve better than this.

Nobody has assumed that. Nobody at all.

This is why Prince Harry left the country. 🤣🤣

Can we comment on what is actually written, rather than what you think is written?

I too am appalled at the assumption of some posters that any one without a job should become a carer. Surely the most vulnerable in our society deserve better than this.

Glorianny

Shinamae

Parsley3

The job of being a carer should not be seen as a useful way of employing asylum seekers. It is an important service and people being cared for deserve to have properly trained staff who choose to do the job.

As a carer myself I totally agree with you…

I agree but why not offer them training and then employ them?
There will be other jobs of course but we are currently experiencing a carer shortage. There were 165000 vacancies for carers. Asylum seekers want to work, we need carers.

And we are experiencing a shortage of carers because the wages are appalling, mostly just minimum wage and the work is hard and getting harder…. I have no problem with foreign staff except for the language, (The English is not usually good and even if it is it is so heavily accented that staff can’t understand them never mind the poor residents but what do we do we need feet on the floor )we now have more Indian staff than English because the English don’t want to work for the pittance that is paid.