New evidence on East Europeans working in Britain, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in York today, may at least make us pause for thought. Working in hard-to-fill jobs on building sites and farms, in restaurants or as au pairs, many found their opportunity to meet British people limited by long, anti-social working hours and low pay. Some told the researchers from Oxford University that they had little contact with British people because they only worked with other migrants. A Polish waitress said: "Our paths just don't cross."

Many who did meet British people at work, in the pub or playing sport, went on to make friends and were invited to their homes. But some found British people polite, but distant. "They do not let you into their circles," a young Ukrainian woman said.

After two years in Britain, one in four found they still spent no leisure time at all with British people. Even among au pairs, whose time in the UK is supposed to include "cultural exchange", there were some who spent little social time with their host families or with other local people.

Many of the migrants, mostly young, single and well-educated, were surprised to find how little people in the UK knew about their country. "Do you have electricity in Lithuania?" one au pair was asked.

But the migrants themselves were set back by a lack of knowledge about Britain when they first arrived. More than half had no information about their rights at work; only a third knew how to register with a GP and less than one in five where to go for advice. A Polish organisation said: "We ask people, 'have you got a pay slip?' But they don't know what that is, and then they have no evidence of having paid tax."

While the Government publishes a booklet on life in Britain for those applying for citizenship after they have been in the UK for some years, there is still nothing for those who have newly arrived unless local agencies or employers provide it.

The migrants had no doubt what kind of information newcomers need, from the cost of rent, to how to open a bank account or apply for a national insurance number.

Some insisted that anyone thinking of coming to Britain also needed to know how tough it could be. A Czech woman working in a hotel said she would tell them: "If you are not able to work from dawn till dusk, don't come." A construction worker, supporting a family back in Poland, said simply: "There should be a big banner at Victoria Station saying 'Go back!' They come here having no idea what it is like."

Homeless agencies have reported East European migrants who can't find a job turning up on their doorstep, but they are not eligible for local authority housing. In the study published today, all of the migrants were working and had somewhere to live. But many had to share rooms, sub-letting space to other migrants to cut the rent. Yet almost all said they were satisfied with their accommodation. It was what they had expected when they came.

Not surprisingly, life was easier for those with good English. They were more likely to have the information they needed, to socialise with British people and to feel well treated by them. Some said how vulnerable their lack of English made them feel when they first arrived. Yet only a third had taken English classes and those with poor English were least likely to have done so. Working hours, the difficulty of getting to classes and cost were among the reasons.

When the migrants in the study arrived in the UK, they had planned to stay, on average, around 18 months. Many found they stayed longer, whether because their work and friendships kept them here or because of a lack of job opportunities back home.

A construction worker planning to stay only until he retired said: "For me, in Lithuania, the grass is greener, the sky is bluer and the people are nicer." Yet many, despite the challenges, intend to stay.

A Slovak man, reporting an argument with his girlfriend back home said, with just a little regret: "She is afraid that I don't intend to come back, and I'm afraid she is right."


Sarah Spencer is associate director of the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society at Oxford University.