Migrant nurses spend five-figure sums to meet potential employers before being forced to work 19-hour shifts without a break, according to a report into their exploitation.
Vulnerable workers have faced demands from recruiters to pay excessive fees in exchange for working in the UK. Some people work 80 hours a week and have money deducted from their paycheck when they try to quit.
They also have to pay excessive rent for substandard housing, according to the Unison report.
The union is calling on the government to intervene to help migrant care workers deported when companies fail and prevent them from being exploited by their employers. It also says changes to visa rules are needed to ensure foreign nurses who lose their jobs are not sent home and have more time to find new work.
Report, One-time jobhighlights cases of foreign workers selling everything they had to come here, only to have their healthcare employers close, lose municipal contracts, or fire employees for unjustified reasons.
In a recent case, more than a hundred foreign nurses in Cambridgeshire were made redundant when their employer Beaumont Healthcare returned its contract to the council – the fifth healthcare provider to return contracts to Cambridgeshire County Council this year. Some employees were fired on the spot in October and face deportation unless they find new sponsors.
A former Beaumont employee who came to the UK from the Philippines said: “I am very concerned about the employment situation. I came here because I was needed. Now when I need help, I can’t get anything.”
The St Neots-based company said the contracts were being terminated as they were no longer viable “due to financial constraints to continue”. It said it was working to ensure the “safe transition of care to other health care providers” and to help staff transition to other facilities and find new jobs.
Companies will be allowed to hire staff from overseas under the UK’s visa system after nursing was classified as a “shortage occupation” in February 2022. Under current rules, employers must pay the government a small licensing fee to fund work visas for the migrant health workers they serve. We are hiring in the UK.
Foreign professionals, including medical workers, currently have 60 days to find a new employer and sponsor. The union believes this is not enough and is calling for visa rules to be changed.
Unscrupulous employers are said to use the threat of deportation to a health worker’s home country to harass migrant workers who provide information or complain about their treatment.
Home Office data published on Thursday shows 143,990 visas for health and care workers were issued in the year to September 2023, more than double the 61,274 in the year to September 2022, as the sector seeks to fill record 152,000 vacancies. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the three main nationals eligible for these visas are Indians, Nigerians and Zimbabweans.
Financial exploitation is also common among foreign employees. Cases reported to Unison include a nurse who paid a recruiter in India £12,000 to “introduce” her to a UK employer. She was told that this was necessary to obtain a sponsorship certificate. When she arrived in the UK, the carer had to pay £700 a month to rent a shared house with no heating and moldy walls.
The health worker complained about this and about the working conditions of his migrant colleagues. Her employer responded by making false accusations about her termination.
Some migrant health workers told Unison they work 80 hours or more a week. Others must work 19-hour shifts without a break and be ready to work at all times.
The Nigerian assistant paid the agent around £7,000, including visa costs. The nurse said, “I like taking care of people, but I don’t think the company has enough work.” The only way out is to find another sponsor. I sold everything so I can’t go back to Nigeria.”
The union says the situation for foreign health workers could soon get worse. There is speculation that the government is planning new immigration restrictions, including a cap on the number of carers who can come to the UK.
Unison is calling for visa extensions for staff to give foreign health workers more time to find new jobs and stop employers threatening deportation if staff try to quit their jobs.
The union is also calling for immigration rules to be changed so that foreign nurses only have to pay for a work visa once, rather than every time they take a new job.
Other recommendations in the report include a call on ministers to provide councils with new guidance on how to deal with unscrupulous employers in the health sector.
Christina Makani, general secretary of Unison, said: “It is too easy for employers to exploit vulnerable health workers from overseas. “They came here to support those who need it most, but then they are treated as expendable.
“Ministers must stop being complicit in such abuses. By not intervening, the government allows malicious employers to abuse and exploit on a massive scale.
“Migrant medical personnel are used to prop up a weak health system. The government must reform immigration rules, stop demonizing foreign workers and give local authorities more resources to crack down on those who exploit migrants.”
A government spokesman said: “We do not tolerate abuses in the labor market and take action when we identify exploitative practices by sponsors.” The Office of Labor Violations is working with other law enforcement agencies to identify illegal work, and those who work illegally will be prosecuted or removed from the sponsor register.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.