Migrant workers in the UK can now leave abusive employers—if they can prove it

The UK Home Office has announced a change to its visa rules that will allow migrant workers to leave exploitative employers without losing their immigration status.

The catch: they have to prove it first. Advocates warn this condition is precisely what traps the most vulnerable workers.

How the new rule works—and who it leaves out

Under rules introduced by Boris Johnson’s Conservative government in 2021 to fill post-Brexit labor shortages, skilled workers’ immigration status is tied to a sponsoring employer. This includes workers in food production, logistics, care, construction, and other essential sectors.

Leaving an employer puts workers at risk of losing their right to remain in the UK because staying requires quickly finding a sponsor who holds a valid licence. Abusive employers exploit this system, using the threat of deportation as a weapon of control.

As reported by The Guardian, that tie will be lifted for workers who receive a positive “conclusive grounds” decision through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM)—the UK’s official framework for identifying modern slavery victims.

The minister for migration and citizenship, Jo White, said:

“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.”

Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of the Work Rights Centre, welcomed the potential of the change but cautions that its impact hinges on how accessible the modern slavery framework is. For nearly three years, the organization has urged the Home Office to free workers’ visas from employer control. Their central argument remains: tying visas to employers creates the conditions for exploitation.

Qualifying workers can now work for any employer, take up self-employment, or do voluntary work for the remainder of their visa. But workers who have not yet received recognition—or whose claims are pending, rejected, or never made out of fear—remain tied to their sponsor.

A system designed for exploitation

The problem the rule change is trying to address is significant. More than 6,600 sponsors have been stripped of their licenses since Labour came to power. Moreover, 4,400 were from 2026 up to June alone—a 140% rise on the year before.

Workers have described insecure work, zero-hour contracts, underpayment, controlled movement, confiscated passports, and intimidation threats tied directly to visa status. These are all recognized forms of modern slavery.

One migrant care worker explained: “Every conversation with the managers feels threatening, and often ends with the word ‘visa’.” Another said: “We cannot continue to work under these kinds of pressures. It is emotionally draining and mentally exhausting. You lose yourself. Fear becomes your shadow.”

Andrea Egan, general secretary of Unison, has been direct: “I don’t say it lightly, but the sponsorship system has effectively made modern slavery a structural feature of our care system.”

A partial fix to a structural problem

The scale of the problem is visible in the Home Office’s own data. Between January and March 2026, 6,003 people were referred to the Home Office as potential modern slavery victims. Of those who received a conclusive grounds decision, just 68% received a positive outcome.

Yet, the rest are likely victims too—likely unable to meet the bar of a framework that advocates have long described as difficult to access and inconsistently applied. For as long as immigration status depends on employer sponsorship, they remain at risk.

Freedom United calls on the UK government to fully decouple immigration status from employer sponsorship. Migrant workers must have the right to leave exploitative conditions without fear. Add your name to the call.