Migrant domestic workers in the UK: Enacting exclusions, exemptions, and rights

Abstract

Human rights law has begun to address the inequalities and exclusions that structure the domain of domestic work. The "everyday" of exclusions from employment law and social security, and precarious migration status, had, until recently, attracted only limited attention. This article examines the reforms introduced in the Overseas Domestic Workers (ODW) visa regime in the United Kingdom. The move towards a more precarious migration status for migrant domestic workers marks a rejection of the reforms secured through sustained political activism. It also highlights the contingency and instability of political moments that secure progressive change for migrants, and the enduring limits of human rights law. © 2014 by The Johns Hopkins University Press.