Gangmasters: Supplying UK Care Homes
Do you know the significance of the number 6145? It is the occupation code on the UK Government website for overseas care workers who want to come to the UK to work and need a visa. You need to have a job that is defined under that code, and you need to have a job offer from an organisation providing adult social care, who would be known as your “sponsor”.
Everybody knows right now that it is really hard to get hold of staff to work in care homes and home care. Some blame Brexit because that meant that we reduced the plentiful flow of Polish and other European staff who came to support the work of caring for older people. Very many employers are now travelling abroad to non-European countries to recruit staff who might be interested. We know that the flow is likely to be from countries where the economic position is so bad that it may be worth the loneliness and hardship of travelling to the UK and living in hostel type accommodation in order to earn money to send back home.
I have discussed elsewhere the extent to which this is an issue for women in every part of the world. However, it is also an issue for men travelling from other countries to the UK.
Bogus providers and social care visas
There is a disturbing report quoted in the Guardian from the former independent chief inspector of Borders and Immigration. He looked into the Home Office’s handling of the social care visa route. It is not that easy to get a visa to come and work in the UK. Employers wanting to bring people into the UK need a sponsor license. In an unpublished report the former inspector found abuse of the system. It included a case where the Home Office issued 275 visas to a “care home” that didn’t even exist. In another case, the Home Office gave 1,234 visas to a company that stated it only had four staff when given a license. This is a sign that companies are being created as a shell. Then they are used to bring people into the country who are supposed to be working as carers. The concern in the Guardian article was that these companies were not providing any care at all.
“The care sector heavily relies on care workers who hold visas. But they may be trapped in a cycle of debt through fraudulent recruitment practices. It is not only about withholding, passports or identification documents, but also threats of physical or verbal intimidation. Those care workers may be living in overcrowded, substandard accommodation provided by the employer.”
That’s bad enough, but something even more disturbing is being reported. It's not just about bogus providers getting approval to recruit internationally and using that to get cash from exploiting people who want to migrate into the UK. There’s also a problem of scamming and exploiting those potential workers including charging thousands of pounds to give them UK visa sponsorship. Late last year, Sky News reported that widespread exploitation of care workers recruited from abroad was the number one priority for the agency that investigates criminality affecting workers in England and Wales. This is the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. They said that the health and care worker visa system was being abused by criminals, leading to a constant stream of allegations of fraud and modern slavery. It has been reported that criminal gangs are using the UK need to fill jobs by exploitation via the visa system. Families spend their life savings to arrange for people to move to the UK. The Local Government Association has said that it is aware of a number of councils who have seen cases of modern slavery linked to the care sector locally. These workers experience various forms of exploitation, including financial coercion, excessive fees, long, working hours, inadequate pay, and threats of deportation.
The care sector heavily relies on care workers who hold visas. But they may be trapped in a cycle of debt through fraudulent recruitment practices. It is not only about withholding, passports or identification documents, but also threats of physical or verbal intimidation. Those care workers may be living in overcrowded, substandard accommodation provided by the employer.
Staff working in care organisations and local authorities should be trained to identify potential victims of modern slavery. Collaborating with law-enforcement agencies and taking concerns seriously is vital. Privacy and confidentiality is extremely important when sharing relevant information because of the vulnerability of those involved. Anyone who blows the whistle on this practice is at risk of potential retaliation.
Who knew that in addition to the pressure on people to travel the globe from every low-income country to look after elders in higher income countries, those people are at risk of falling into the hands of gangmasters, who profit from their need for work and our need for workers? It’s a disgrace that this should be happening in the UK now.
Not enough people are aware. Tell someone today.
