Am I covered by the new rule? An honest answer

Since the news broke, one question has arrived twenty different ways: does this apply to me? Here is the honest answer, including the part nobody wants to hear.

You are covered if all of these are true

• You are in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa.
• You have been referred into the National Referral Mechanism, the official process for identifying victims of modern slavery.
• You have received a positive conclusive grounds decision from the Home Office.

You are not covered yet if

• You have not been referred at all. Nothing has started.
• You have been referred but no conclusive grounds decision has come back.
• Your job is simply bad: rude bosses, poor rotas, an employer you dislike. Hard is not the same as slavery, and the rule does not stretch that far.

Why we are being blunt about it

Because someone will read a headline, hand in their notice tomorrow, and find out afterwards that the protection had not reached them. That mistake costs a visa. If you are not sure which side of the line you are on, ask before you act, not after.

Modern Slavery Helpline: 08000 121 700. Free, confidential, day and night. Asking them a question does not commit you to anything.

If you are covered

Then you can work for any employer for the time left on your visa, without a new certificate of sponsorship. When you look for that next job, the companies on this site are checked against the Home Office register of licensed sponsors the same day they appear.

We are a job alert service, not immigration advisers, and this is not legal advice. For your own case speak to a regulated adviser or a support organisation.