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 £31,000 to £38,000.
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 “treat those in our care with dignity, decency, and respect” and provide an environment for residents to “engage in activities relevant to them”.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock said there had been “excessive interpretation” of contractual obligations.
He told LBC: “My understanding of it is, they’re contractually obliged to have some kind of physical exercise, because you want to make sure that people aren’t falling into ill health, because that just makes it even worse for the taxpayer if we’re having to deal with that kind of thing.
“But it seems that there’s been an excessive interpretation of those contractual obligations and Seema Malhotra, the immigration minister, I’m 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.”
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.
