Nearly 200 UK care firms with migrant staff violated labour rules, says report

Nearly 200 British social care providers allowed to employ foreign workers were found to have a record of labour violations, new research showed, highlighting worker abuse in a low-paid sector heavily reliant on immigration.

A report by the charity Work Rights Centre said 177 care companies in England that had a sponsorship licence to recruit migrant workers had previously breached employment rights.

The companies made 250 labour standards violations from January 2020 to July 2024, according to a study by researchers at Violation Tracker UK of Employment Tribunal cases, including unfair dismissal, pay cuts, discrimination, overworking staff and failing to pay the minimum wage.

Overall, the companies lost 225 cases and were ordered to pay more than £6m (R138.9m) combined in compensation to workers.

Charities and academics have said Britain's post-Brexit system of allowing companies to sponsor workers to receive a visa can create a power imbalance. The investigative agency for labour exploitation, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, said cases of modern slavery, debt bondage and financial exploitation are on the rise.

Work Rights Centre CEO Dora-Olivia Vicol said the power imbalance can leave “companies emboldened to exploit migrant workers in the knowledge they can use the threat of visa curtailment to silence those who might speak out”.

As Britain's population ages, demand for care staff to help the elderly is growing.

Nearly a third of all care workers in England are migrants, many of whom arrived from countries such as India, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and the Philippines after Britain introduced a dedicated visa for the job in 2021 to fill thousands of vacancies after its departure from the EU.

The report said the number of violations was likely the “tip of the iceberg” as only a small fraction of employment disputes make it to an employment tribunal.

The home office has revoked or suspended the sponsorship licences of more than 1,000 companies this year.

Reuters