Work Ban
Sign our open letter to give asylum-seeking and refugee women the right to work
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.
Women for Refugee Women campaigns to grant refugee women the right to work, and to lift the ban on work for asylum-seekers.
Talented, experienced and skilled people trapped in unemployment by a senseless ban.
Women for Refugee Women is part of a coalition of over 300 charities, trade unions, businesses, faith groups and think tanks that are part of the asylum employment right campaign to #LiftTheBan. We aim to ensure that people seeking safety in the UK have the right to work.
The ban on work forces people into poverty and destitution, has a hugely negative impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing, and wastes the talents, skills and experiences of people who can contribute to their communities and to the economy.
While banned from working, people seeking asylum in the UK are forced to survive on anywhere between £9.95 and £49.18 per week to meet their needs. This pushes many into poverty. For women, this can be particularly harmful. Our 2025 research, Safety and Survival, found that 8% of women turned to sex work as they were unable to meet their basic needs.
YouGov polling found that 81% of the public support the right to work for people seeking asylum in the UK. It just makes sense.
If we give refugee women the right to work they could support themselves and their families, integrate into our communities and contribute to the UK economy.
It’s time to Lift the Ban.
Join our asylum employment rights campaign to 'Lift The Ban' and end the UK refugee work ban.
Allow asylum seekers to work in the UK, including their adult dependents, after they have waited six months for a decision on their asylum claims. This should be unconstrained by the Immigration Salary List.
“If I could work, I could use my skills, my knowledge. I could support myself and my family… feel useful. Instead, I am waiting, waiting, waiting… wasting away. I have lost my confidence. I used to feel like someone. Now I feel like I am just seen as an asylum-seeker.”
“You do what you can to survive. And for women like me, this can be really dangerous. You’re forced into situations you don’t want to be in, because you have no choice, and you cannot support yourself – for years. Depressed, isolated…”
“I finally have my status and the right to work. But I’ve been forced out of work for so long, everything feels so difficult now. It feels like I have to start all over again from scratch. I don’t have the confidence anymore. ”
One rainy morning in early Spring, the coalition visited Parliament with a loud and clear message: people seeking asylum are ready to work. Watch our video now:
Our new report, launched May 2025, found that women who are seeking safety in the UK from war, persecution and gender-based violence are retraumatised and placed at risk of further harm, abuse and exploitation by the work ban.
Find out more about the report and what you can do to help us #LiftTheBan.