From victim of wage theft to powerful advocate.

In summer 2024 many workers were left without options when one of the licensed scheme operators on the Seasonal Worker visa had its license revoked by the Home Office. The Worker Support Centre shared information with workers and partners and conducted proactive outreach to contact those we thought were at risk of this sudden revocation and who might need support.

One of the workers who got in touch with us was Kevin (his chosen pseudonym), who had been left without information for some time and was seeking help with issues on his farm. He had identified a discrepancy between the hours he was working and the pay he was receiving, and he was also fed up with being treated poorly by his farm managers. WSC helped Kevin to seek redress, eventually leading to a complaint being raised to the enforcement authorities, which led to an inspection on his farm and further investigation of the case .

This process made Kevin increasingly determined to help people who had experienced what he had. He joined WSC events, including a meeting with the Scottish Government and United Nations Special Rapporteur where he addressed people and called for much easier ways for workers to reclaim unpaid wages.

Kevin has become a powerful advocate of workers’ rights, most recently writing an article about his time in the UK and reflections on the issues with the SWV and has raised awareness of the specific needs of workers on the Seasonal Worker visa amongst enforcement agencies.