Frustrated by her “unstable” income in Malaysia, Jocelyn was determined to be in Britain to earn in pounds instead of ringgit.
The 26-year-old Penangite said she was paid a basic salary of RM750 a month in her previous job as a salesgirl.
“My basic salary was simply not enough. My commission fluctuated. Sometimes I could earn between RM1,000 and RM2,000, but it was very unstable.”
Then a friend introduced her to his agent who charged £250 (RM1,750) to find a job for her. She was told that if she changed jobs, she would have to pay the agent another £250 (RM1,750).
Jocelyn agreed to the terms and not long after, she was working in a cafeteria in a small town some three hours' drive from London.
During the day, she cleans, sweeps the floor, fries bacon and sausages, places orders, serves breakfast sets and lunches, and clears the tables from 7am to 2.30pm for £150 (RM1,050) a week.
She gets a day off on Sundays and the cafe owner provides accommodation and food.
At night, Jocelyn works as a waitress in a Chinese take-away restaurant from 4pm till 11pm. She is paid £100 (RM700) a week. She gets Mondays off in the restaurant.
“My English is poor but I can learn to speak it better and improve my listening skill here,” she told The Star in a telephone interview.
Juggling between her morning and night jobs, Jocelyn has hardly any time for herself.
“Sometimes I feel lonely but I don’t have time to go out or have a social life,” she said.
The upside is that she can now send home £1,000 (RM7,000) every month to her mother.
Jocelyn said she prefers to live in a small town because it is not as busy as big cities where illegal foreign workers are spotted more easily.
Her husband had been facing some financial problems then, and she had been influenced by the words “you can earn more than double”.
At first, she had missed her two children, then aged three and seven, and had called them frequently.
However, the thought of going home never crossed her mind.
“Even now, the enforcement on illegal foreign workers is strict but I don't have plans to go home yet,” said Serene, from Perak, who used to work as an accounts clerk in Malaysia.
“I have moved to work in a Chinese restaurant in Ireland. My present employer pays me 300 Euros (RM1,415) a week and I work from 12.30pm to 2.30pm. I take a break before working again from 5pm to midnight. My employer provides accommodation and food, and the offer in Ireland is higher than the one in England,” she said.
“I still call home from time to time to talk to my children. I ask them what they like and I will use my free time to go shopping for them and post the things they ask for. I want to make them happy.
“I earn more in England and Ireland. The money will be used for my children's education. It’s for their future,” she said.
She wants to see Europe and experience the four seasons, and staying in Britain has given her the opportunity to brush up on her English.
“My life had been so stagnant back home. I worked as a secretary and was promoted to marketing support supervisor after working for seven years. I felt so bored I needed a change,” the 28-year-old said.
Then friends who were participating in the working holiday scheme told her about it and persuaded her to join them.
Yap spent her first two weeks in Leicester visiting her friends but she found the place “rather boring” and decided to go to London.
Then a friend got her a job in a Chinese restaurant owned by a Vietnamese family.
“They are very nice to me. I have never worked as a waitress before but it’s a learning experience. My colleagues are like my family members now,” she said.
“I don’t need to spend much as accommodation and food are provided. They pay me £180 (RM1,227) a week and tips average about £70 (RM477) a week.”
Yap works from 11.30am to 3pm and after an hour's break, she continues to work till 10.30pm. She has a day off on Sunday.
“I have an NL account (national insurance contribution), which enables me to open a bank account and I can deposit my pay in the account. But those who are working illegally here do not have an NL account and things can be more difficult for them,” she said.
Yap related horror stories of employers who bully illegal workers who do not have national insurance accounts. These employers simply delay their pay and later fire them or alert the police to get them out of the way, she said.
It's not just those working illegally who have to watch out for the law, however. If caught, their employers are also subject to punitive action from the government.
“If the workers do not have proper documents, employers will be fined £5,000 and two years' jail for each illegal worker caught,” said the mother of two girls.
“Who dares to hire illegal foreign workers if you have to pay £2,000 and serve two years' jail for each illegal worker caught?
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Frustrated by her “unstable” income in Malaysia, Jocelyn was determined to be in Britain to earn in pounds instead of ringgit.
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