If you’re not the customer, you are the product. This is the sentence that best sums up my three seasons working in the UK on the seasonal workers visa scheme. This year was undoubtably my last. I'm here to explain why and offer advice on how to improve the scheme.
It all happened very quickly the first time I applied to work in the UK. I got a WhatsApp message from a friend, sent an email, and within the hour I was filling out forms and signing documents. I never sent a CV to the South African agency that recruited me, and they never interviewed me. It's easy to see the red flags in retrospect. But at the time, the opportunity looked good on paper and I didn’t ask questions.
I paid extra to rush my visa appointment, and within a month of that first email I was off to the UK. My total outlay was about R40,000 (£1750), including the money I took to cover expenses until I got paid.
