Most people seeking safety in the UK are banned from work by the Government. This causes huge harm to women seeking safety, placing them at further risk of harm, abuse or exploitation.

Talented, experienced and skilled people trapped in unemployment by a senseless ban.

Women seeking safety want to work and contribute to society. It just makes sense. It's time to lift the ban.

Sign our open letter to the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, calling on the Government to lift the ban. Your signature will join thousands and thousands of others.

Our open letter to the Home Secretary

Dear Home Secretary,

The non-sensical work ban on people seeking asylum is making people sick and harming the UK as a whole.

As a coalition of more than 300 organisations, including charities, trade unions, businesses, and refugees, we urge you to lift this ban immediately.

The government is currently focusing on new asylum laws that fail to address the real challenges. Instead of doubling down on measures that punish refugees, this is the perfect moment to make a positive change by lifting the work ban.

By lifting the ban, you can:

• Restore people’s dignity. Everyone has the right to earn a living, provide for their families, and contribute to society. For people seeking asylum, work is a path to rebuilding lives and becoming part of a new community.
• Allow people to unleash their skills and experience to address labour shortages. Thousands of people with a huge range of experiences and skills, such as teachers, farmers, builders, shop workers, drivers, doctors, cleaners, and engineers are being forced to sit on the sidelines.
• Bring the UK into line with policy in all other comparable countries. The restrictive approach that the UK takes on the right to work makes it an international outlier.
• Benefit the economy. We estimate that a change in policy would result in an economic gain of millions of pounds for the UK Government, as a result of additional tax revenues and savings.

People who have risked everything to seek safety in the UK are eager to work. They want to be part of the solution, to use their skills, and to thrive.

They should not be held back by a ban that makes no sense. The time to act is now.

Yours sincerely,
The Lift the Ban coalition and the undersigned

Women for Refugee Women is part of a coalition of over 300 charities, trade unions, businesses, faith groups and think tanks. Together, we believe we can #LiftTheBan and ensure that people seeking safety in the UK have the right to work. This open letter is part of the Lift the Ban coalition.