Migrant workers who have been exploited on British farms face huge barriers to achieving justice through the employment tribunal – including rules effectively stopping them from giving oral evidence, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) can reveal.

The six-month seasonal worker visa, which was launched in 2019 and now brings more than 30,000 workers to the UK each year, has been beset with allegations of labour exploitation, including systematic bullying, abuse and underpayment. Yet only two seasonal workers are known to have brought claims to a tribunal.

The first of these cases ended largely in failure in September. Sapana Pangeni, from Nepal, made several allegations, including underpayment, against a farm in Berkshire. The tribunal dismissed most of her claims. The second case is ongoing.

Legal experts told TBIJ about several obstacles that overseas workers face at tribunal. They include the length of the visa, language barriers and the lack of access to free legal advice.

Lord John Hendy KC, one of the UK’s top employment barristers and chair of the Institute of Employment Rights, said TBIJ’s findings were “deeply troubling”.

He said that barriers to legal help and the limitations of UK labour agencies are two of the many factors enabling “exploitation and wage theft by employers in the agriculture and food...

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