A refugee mum and her daughter are facing homelessness after the award-winning charity she worked for wrongly said she had no right to work in Britain.
Former support worker Rohie John, 47, was dismissed from her job at Brothers of Charity, where she had worked for seven years after managers misinterpreted the Home Office’s ‘right to work’ rules.
Ms John, a mother of three, applied for a visa extension in January after her leave to remain visa came up for renewal, but the company wrongly told her she should not be working while it was being processed.
It is an employer’s duty to carry out the right-to-work checks but the charity only acknowledged its error after letting her go. Correspondence seen by The Independent shows that the charity committed to reinstate her and look for “suitable vacancies” a month ago. However, Ms John is still without work despite a number of vacancies being advertised on its website.
Since losing her job, Ms John and her 12-year-old daughter are struggling to survive on the £20 a week child benefit she receives, leaving her unsure of where their next meal is coming from, and facing eviction due to rent arrears. Her immigration status means she is not entitled to other benefits.
“I am being discriminated against; I am upset and angry,” Ms John told The Independent. “When I was dismissed, my heart completely sank; I wasn’t expecting to be treated this way, especially after working with them for seven years.”
“I’m really emotional about this situation and just can’t stop crying. I am actually afraid to leave the house in case I come back to find that we’ve been thrown out.”
It’s also affecting Ms John’s daughter. “My daughter has not been sleeping or eating properly - and neither have I,” she added.
“I worry a lot about her. A few days ago, my daughter asked me if we should start selling our belongings to get some money. It broke my heart. She’s only twelve years old and shouldn’t have to worry about things like that. But she has to see her mum crying every day because of my stress.
“She’s going back to school soon and I can’t afford to buy her some new shoes. I’m trying to find money for her uniform and lunches: all I can manage to find her is some rice to eat.”
Ms John, who was born in Gambia and migrated to the UK in 2005, said she was also unable to financially support her two other children who are currently in the care of family members on the continent and they’ve consequently been forced to miss out on schooling.
She said she has made three applications for visa renewals with the Home Office before while working at Brothers of Charity, and managers never raised any issues with her employment on those occasions.
With her visa renewal application still being processed, prospective employers are reluctant to hire her.
“This application cost me almost £3000. Every time I renew my status, it takes everything I have. This is the fourth and hopefully final time I have to renew it,” she said.
Her story comes as the Home Office is prioritising immigration casework from Ukraine applicants over others.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We recognise there have been delays to visa processing times, largely impacted by the requirement to prioritise applications submitted for the Ukraine schemes, and we are urgently working hard to reduce these.”
Fizza Qureshi, CEO of the Migrants’ Rights Network said asking employers to interpret and enforce immigration rules was “leading to discrimination and destitution”.
“With our partners at Migrants at Work, we have heard many shocking and concerning stories of people like Rohie facing dismissal, discrimination and destitution because employers do not understand their duties. This is having devastating consequences with many on the verge of poverty and homelessness and with little to no support,” she said.
“At a time where businesses and sectors across the UK are facing widespread labour shortages and are desperate for workers, these rules are shutting people out. We are calling for right-to-work laws to be revoked to ensure everyone has equal access to work free from discrimination.”
Brothers of Charity did not respond to several requests for comment.
