On 21 November 2025 the Home Office quietly published Detention Services Order 11/2025, setting out fresh rules governing the use of force on adults held in immigration removal centres (IRCs), residential short-term holding facilities and pre-departure accommodation. The 33-page document standardises training requirements, reporting thresholds and medical oversight after a string of critical inspections and scandals involving excessive restraint. Staff must now file a full ‘Use of Force Supervisor Report’ within 24 hours, while any incident involving vulnerable adults triggers an automatic Safeguarding review.
For global-mobility teams the guidance matters because a growing number of business travellers can find themselves detained—for example when eGate outages expose passport issues or when overstayers are picked up during right-to-work raids. The order clarifies that accredited legal representatives must be given private access “as soon as practicable”, and that force may only be used as a last resort, proportionate to a legitimate aim such as preventing escape or harm. Where medication is administered during restraint, medical staff must record dosage and provide post-incident care plans.
![Home Office issues new detention order on the use of force in immigration removal centres]()
Contractors running IRCs—Serco, Mitie, GEO and others—face new auditing metrics, including a Red-Amber-Green rating system that could affect contract renewals. Human-rights NGOs have welcomed the tighter controls but say independent video monitoring should be mandated. Businesses with assignees in high-risk visa categories (e.g., overstayers switching status) should update their emergency protocols to reflect the new escalation chain and ensure legal-aid numbers are readily available to travellers.
The Detention Order took immediate effect on publication. Employers should brief global security teams and check that mobility policies cover detention scenarios, medical consent and data-privacy obligations when incident reports cite employees by name.
For global-mobility teams the guidance matters because a growing number of business travellers can find themselves detained—for example when eGate outages expose passport issues or when overstayers are picked up during right-to-work raids. The order clarifies that accredited legal representatives must be given private access “as soon as practicable”, and that force may only be used as a last resort, proportionate to a legitimate aim such as preventing escape or harm. Where medication is administered during restraint, medical staff must record dosage and provide post-incident care plans.
Contractors running IRCs—Serco, Mitie, GEO and others—face new auditing metrics, including a Red-Amber-Green rating system that could affect contract renewals. Human-rights NGOs have welcomed the tighter controls but say independent video monitoring should be mandated. Businesses with assignees in high-risk visa categories (e.g., overstayers switching status) should update their emergency protocols to reflect the new escalation chain and ensure legal-aid numbers are readily available to travellers.
The Detention Order took immediate effect on publication. Employers should brief global security teams and check that mobility policies cover detention scenarios, medical consent and data-privacy obligations when incident reports cite employees by name.
