MPs have rejected an amendment made by the Lords to the modern slavery bill, which would allow migrant workers to change employer.

The system of “tied visas”, introduced by the government in 2012, means that workers who are brought to the UK by their employer cannot legally leave their job and find employment elsewhere.

MPs voted by a majority of 67 – 276 votes to 209 – against adopting the amendment, which was tabled in the Lords by the independent peer Lord Hylton and backed by the Bishop of Carlisle. The modern slavery bill will now return to be debated in the Lords again.

The charity Kalayaan told the Guardian that it had been approached by more than 400 foreign domestic workers in Britain seeking help. They are typically from poorer countries, such as the Philippines or Indonesia, and often work for wealthy families who have brought them over from the Gulf. The charity says the visa changes have made their position worse.

The minister in charge of the bill, Karen Bradley, told MPs that she understood and shared the sentiment behind the Lords amendment, but urged MPs to reject it.

“This bill means those who traffic overseas domestic workers or hold them in servitude can receive a life sentence. The bill means the slavery, forced and compulsory labour offence will reflect the particular circumstances of vulnerable victims,” she said.

“The bill means all victims of modern slavery will have major new protections, such as the statutory defence to prevent them being inappropriately treated as criminals.”

Bradley said that she would not propose to simply disagree with the Lords amendment and would instead propose additional protections for overseas domestic workers who fall victim of slavery.

The shadow immigration minister, David Hanson, said Bradley “hasn’t yet managed to convince” those who work with victims of modern slavery, including organisations like Amnesty International, that the bill would protect workers without the amendment proposed by the Lords.

He said: “Domestic workers since 2012 who come here from overseas are now tied to an employer and in practice that means that the domestic worker suffering abuse will immediately lose their right to reside in the UK if they escape the situation and sought help away from their employer.



“This in turn I believe disincentivises them to seek help from the authorities in the first place for fear of being deported, allows abuse to become widespread and the perpetrators to carry on uncontested.”

