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Is Work Working?

A collaborative Bureau Local investigation into insecure work and the gig economy

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Highlights from the Investigation

Julia Quecaño Casimiro leans on a tree stump in a wood

22.10.23

Trapped in work

‘All that is missing is a whip’: Home Office ignored migrant worker abuses on farms

Inspectors heard hundreds of allegations of threats, wage theft, racism and appalling conditions from seasonal workers at farms across the UK, but nothing was done

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A farm worker picks strawberries in a poly tunnel at a UK farm

26.10.23

Trapped in work

Watchdog criticises Home Office for dropping farm worker visa review

The government has confirmed it will not publish a promised review despite calls from non-profits, academics and its own independent inspector

Published with

27.03.23

Trapped in work

‘They treat you like an animal’: How British farms run on exploitation

Migrants on the UK’s rapidly expanding farmworker visa scheme face systematic bullying, abuse and growing debt

Published with
A worker on an asparagus farm pushes a barrow

27.05.22

Trapped in work

Migrant fruit pickers charged thousands in illegal fees to work on UK farms

Labourers from Nepal say they paid third-party agencies as much as £3,000 to secure six-month job

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