Refugees, right to work and employment services

The paper is dedicated to the condition of refugees (applicants and beneficiaries of international protection) in the labour market. Research shows the existence of the so-called ‘refugee gap’, the employment and wage gap between refugees and other migrant groups. Such a gap remains significant even after controlling for demographic characteristics and skills and persists over time. From a legal point of view, labour law scholars have long identified precarious status as an element that drives migrant workers towards certain types of work and employment relations that are characterized by a very high level of dependence on the employer, thus limiting the capacity of labour law to partially compensate for power inequalities. Building on the existing debate on the relationship between legal status and work, the contribution moves a step further to reflect on the role of public institutions in improving the condition of these workers in the labour market and preventing the risk of labour exploitation. It focuses in particular on how employment services can make equal access to employment more effective as well as offer, in sectors where demand for migrant workers is strongest, job opportunities that comply with exiting standards of protection. To this end, the presentation outlines the specificities of refugees' needs for skills assessment and placement. These findings will be supplemented with empirical insight from an action research project (FARm – Filiera dell’agricoltura responsabile; https://www.project-farm.eu/) aimed at developing a preventive approach to labour exploitation in three different regions in Northern Italy (Veneto, Lombardia, Trentino Alto Adige) in partnership with public institutions responsible for matching labour supply and demand.