The government has intervened after a contractor managing an immigration removal centre advertised roles, including floristry and hairdressing tutors, on a recruitment website.
Mitie, the outsourcing firm responsible for the Heathrow immigration removal centre (IRC) near west London, had listed various positions online.
These included a painting and decorating tutor and a gym manager, with salaries ranging from ÂŁ31,000 to ÂŁ38,000.
One job description outlined responsibilities for delivering workshops in floristry, cake decorating, balloon-craft, and arts and craft activities, aiming to “provide a safe, secure, stimulating, supportive and productive environment for residents”.
Home Office minister Seema Malhotra expressed disapproval, stating: “We do not believe all these roles are necessary and have told the Home Office to speak to Mitie to remove them.”
However, the government department has yet to specify which jobs Mitie has been instructed to withdraw, and a number of the roles reportedly remain active on the official find-a-job portal.
On its website, Mitie said it aims to âtreat those in our care with dignity, decency, and respectâ and provide an environment for residents to âengage in activities relevant to themâ.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock said there had been âexcessive interpretationâ of contractual obligations.
He told LBC: âMy understanding of it is, theyâre contractually obliged to have some kind of physical exercise, because you want to make sure that people arenât falling into ill health, because that just makes it even worse for the taxpayer if weâre having to deal with that kind of thing.
âBut it seems that thereâs been an excessive interpretation of those contractual obligations and Seema Malhotra, the immigration minister, Iâm very pleased to say, has rapidly responded to this and instructed Mitie to delete those jobs, and that is a good move on her part.â
The Heathrow IRC combines Colnbrook and Harmondsworth removals centres and is, according to Mitie, the largest IRC in Europe with a capacity of 965 residents.
The company has been approached for comment.
