Domestic Workers Carry Compassion Into Every Home and Deserve a Place in the World They Build By MitzieMitch
- thevoiceofdomesticworkers
- Jul 21
- 3 min read
I have been a domestic worker since September 2022, and from the very beginning I understood that this work is about more than tasks completed and hours logged. It is about the presence I bring into a home, the care I offer that goes beyond what any job description can fully capture, and the human connection that forms between me and the families I serve.
I do not only offer good service to my employers. I carry a kind and compassionate heart. I show love and care especially to the little ones I look after. I work every day to ensure that the family has a home sweet home. And in return, I simply wish to receive the same care and recognition that I give so freely.
That wish is not complicated. It is the most human of exchanges. And yet, for too many domestic workers like me, the structures around us make even that basic reciprocity difficult to find. On my hardest days, I turn to prayer. My family is my anchor and my reason. I draw from that deep well of love and faith and keep going, even when the conditions of my work feel uncertain and the future feels unclear.
I am completely hopeful that things will improve for domestic workers. I believe deeply that the world should see workers like me as free and fairly judged, not lost or unseen in the society we contribute to every single day. Currently, I feel the government is doing the least possible to protect migrant domestic workers, and that must change.
The rights I want restored are the right to renew the Overseas Domestic Worker Visa and the right to stay and settle in this country. Both of these are life-changing to me, not simply important but fundamentally transformative. The inability to renew the visa is the loss that has hurt domestic workers like me the most.
I spend three and a half hours each week worrying about my job and visa situation. That is three and a half hours that belong to anxiety rather than to living. The mental load of navigating an uncertain legal status while also caring for other people's families is one of the hidden costs of how domestic work is currently structured in the UK. It is a cost that should not exist.
VODW's campaigns for visa renewal and the right to settlement are working to close this gap. Workers' unions should speak up. NGOs and advocates should raise awareness. The government should make laws. The general public should also raise awareness. Everyone has a role.
If these rights were brought back, it would truly mean a great deal to me. It would mean freedom and fair judgement. It would mean no more worrying about being lost or unseen. It would mean that the compassion I bring to every home I work in is finally matched by a system that sees me too.
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