Health, social, economic and cultural impacts of COVID-19 on migrant essential workers in the UK

1.2 Scientific/technical summary (max. 250 words) COVID-19 has exposed the UK's socio-economic dependence on a chronically insecure migrant essential workforce. While risking their lives to offset the devastating effects of the pandemic, migrant workers reportedly find themselves in precarious professional and personal circumstances (temporary zero-hours contracts, work exploitation, overcrowded accommodation, limited access to adequate health/social services including Universal Credit). This project will investigate the health, social, economic and cultural impacts of COVID-19 on the migrant essential workforce and how these might impact on their continued stay in the UK. It will focus on the largest non-British nationality in the UK, the Polish community, who - while employed across a range of roles and sectors - are overrepresented in lower-paid essential work. We will use this group as an illustrative case study to make wider claims and policy recommendations about migrant work during the pandemic. Using a mixed-methods approach, we will conduct: an online survey to map COVID-19 impacts; in-depth qualitative interviews to establish how the pandemic has affected worker's lives; and expert interviews with stakeholders to investigate how to best support and retain migrant essential workers in COVID-19 recovery strategies. The results will generate the first comprehensive UK-wide dataset on the experiences of migrant essential workers against the backdrop of COVID-19. The research, co-produced with partner organisations (Polish Expats Associations, Fife Migrants Forum, PKAVS Minority Communities Hub and Polish Social and Cultural Association), will generate a policy briefing, a toolkit for employers in the essential work sectors, information resources for migrant workers, alongside media and academic outputs.