Five former immigration detainees have challenged the rate of pay of £1 an hour in immigration detention centres. The men’s case was dismissed and they are seeking permission to appeal against the ruling.
Detention centres, like prisons, are exempt from minimum wage legislation. Paid work in detention centres is voluntary and detainees do not have to pay for food or accommodation while they are incarcerated. The reported £1 pay rate is less than one-seventh of the legal minimum wage and was described by detainees as “slave labour wages”. The evidence from the five men was that the rates of pay made them feel exploited.
The judge in the first instance ruled the rates were acceptable because the purpose of the types of jobs being done, such as cleaning, hairdressing and welfare support, was “to provide meaningful activity and alleviate boredom”. He said no one was compelled to work.
The wage rate has remained the same since 2008 when the Home Office standardised work payments, which had previously varied between detention centres. Between 2016 and 2017, detainees carried out 887,073 hours of work, for which they were paid £887,565. A very small percentage of them – 0.27% – were paid an enhanced rate of £1.25 an hour for special projects.
The judge ruled the overarching purpose of the Immigration Act 1999 was to provide “secure but humane accommodation” for detainees and that it was not inhumane to set a fixed rate for work detainees were not compelled to do.
