Migrant Workers
The United Nation definition of a Migrant Worker is as follows:
'The term "migrant worker" refers to a person who is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national.'
Migrant workers have historically come to Britain to work in areas of skills shortage and to perform unskilled jobs that employers have found difficult to fill; the latter category includes fruit and flower picking. Migrant workers often chosen because of their level of skills and work ethic. Migration is thought to bring significant benefits to the economy, society, culture and to migrant workers themselves.
Legal Duties
The best known case of the health and safety of migrant workers being mismanaged is that if the cockle-pickers who died in Marecambe Bay in 2005. The gang master who was responsible for them was sentenced to 21 years in prison, for their manslaughter and for causing illegal immigrants to work in the UK.
The key legal requirements are outlined in:
- The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006
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- The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
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- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
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- The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996
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Barbour Resources
FREE FactsheetPosted: August -
2010This factsheet gives a definition of a migrant worker and outlines the risks that should be considered to ensure reasonable care is taken
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Other relevant Barbour Resources available with a subscription are:
- Technical Guide: Migrant Workers
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- Director's Briefing: Migrant Workers
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