Health and Care Worker visas are a form of work-sponsored visas that tie workers to their employers. We are seeing and supporting increasing numbers of migrant care workers who have been scammed out of thousands of pounds by bogus recruiters, threatened and mistreated by their sponsors, and left worrying about their work, finances and right to remain in the UK.
But there are ways to seek employment justice if you have experienced mistreatment. If you are a care worker living in the UK on a Health and Care Worker visa and are facing problems, this resource is for you. Updated 15 April 2024
The first step is to understand your rights. Everyone has rights at work, including sponsored migrant workers. This is a mix of rights which apply to all workers in the UK (these are called statutory rights, and include things like the right to be paid at least national minimum wage), and contractual rights, which depend on your contract with your employer. Your contractual rights will typically include things like how many hours of work you should be given every week, what you get paid, and how much notice you and your employer should give each other if you want to part ways. To understand your rights, get a copy of your employment contract, and see the UK government website for your statutory rights.
If you think your employer is breaching your rights, raise this with them. You may want to raise it informally at first (eg: in a meeting with your line manager), but if the situation continues, it is important to do it in writing and promptly. Keep a detailed diary to record your communication with the employer, any evidence (such as copies of emails / notes) and any instances of mistreatment or wage deductions. This will be useful if you want to bring a formal claim against them.
If your employer is threatening you with violence, call the police at 999.
Unfortunately, some employers use their power to stop sponsorship to intimidate migrant workers. They should not do that. Employers authorised to sponsor migrant workers must comply with all UK legislation, including the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, which protects all people from harassment. If sponsor employers do not comply with all the relevant laws and rules, the Home Office can take action against them such as suspending or revoking their sponsor licence.
However, while your employer should not use threatening language or breach your employment rights, they can dismiss you. If the dismissal is unfair, you could bring a claim to the Employment Tribunal.
Any dismissal is likely to have an impact on your immigration status, even if it was unfair. If you are worried that your employer will dismiss and stop sponsoring you, the best way to protect yourself, if you want to continue to work in the UK under the Health and Care worker (or Skilled Worker) route, is to get a job offer from a new sponsor as soon as possible. Based on your individual circumstances, you may also be able to apply under a different route. Please get in touch with a qualified immigration adviser.
If your employment rights were breached, you can take action. We encourage you to explore your options and stand up for your rights, but please seek employment legal advice before you decide to go to court.
Employment tribunals. If your dispute occurred within the past 3 months. Employment tribunals are responsible for hearing claims from people who think an employer has treated them unlawfully. This includes things like non-payment, unfair dismissal, discrimination, or unlawful deductions from pay. You can bring a claim to the Employment Tribunal if no more than 3 months minus one day have passed since your rights were breached. Before you can bring a claim to the Employment Tribunal, you will have to notify ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service). ACAS is a free service and a mandatory step. You must notify ACAS within the 3 months minus one day, otherwise the tribunal is unlikely to accept your claim.
County court. If your dispute arose more than three months ago and involves an issue such as non-payment of wages in breach of your employment contract, you may be able to seek redress in the civil courts, such as the county court. However, court fees are payable unless you meet exemption criteria, and if you lose you may be ordered to pay the other side's costs.
Labour enforcement agencies. If you don’t feel able to bring a court claim, you can contact one of the UK’s labour enforcement agencies and ask that they take action for you. The HMRC National Minimum Wage Team can take action against employers who fail to pay workers their minimum wage. The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) can also take action against employers who fail to pay workers, and can make a referral to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for victims of modern slavery.
Unfortunately, the short answer is yes, even if they shouldn’t. You may be able to claim compensation afterwards from an employment tribunal, depending on what happened, and we encourage you to speak to an employment legal adviser.
IMPORTANT: Dismissal is likely to have an impact on your immigration status, even if it was unfair.
While on a Health and Care Worker (or a Skilled Worker) visa, your permission to stay in the UK is dependent on being employed by an approved sponsor. If your employment with the sponsor of your visa were to end, even if the reason was unfair, your visa would normally be cancelled by the Home Office. You will also not be able to work for another employer, until you have been issued with a new immigration status.
Employers who are authorised to sponsor migrant workers must tell the Home Office within 10 working days once they have stopped sponsoring someone. You should then receive a curtailment letter in the post from the Home Office, to inform you that your visa has been shortened (‘curtailed’) to 60 days (or less, for example if your visa was due to expire in fewer than 60 days). If you want to continue to work in the UK under the Health and Care Worker route, you will have to find a new employer to sponsor you, and apply for a new visa before your current one expires.
IMPORTANT: If you do not make a valid application before your current visa expires, you will overstay your visa and no longer have permission to be or work in the UK. This carries very serious risks. Please get in touch with a qualified immigration adviser.
Unfortunately, it does not. Some migrants do not receive a curtailment letter, even long after their sponsored employment ended. This could be because employers failed to notify the Home Office of the end of a migrant worker’s employment, the migrant worker’s address was out of date, or as a result of a delay by the Home Office.
However, once your sponsored employment has ended, your immigration status will not be secure, and could be curtailed at any moment. You will also breach the conditions of your visa if you work anywhere else. You should speak to a qualified immigration adviser to assess your options in this situation.
IMPORTANT: Please ensure your details are up to date with the Home Office, so that you receive all necessary communication, including a curtailment letter. You can update your details on the UK government website.
The Home Office has an online service where people can prove their right to work. This service should give a real time view of whether, according to the records of the Home Office, you continue to have status inside the UK. The service can be accessed here: Prove your right to work to an employer: Overview - GOV.UK.
The Home Office’s portal will set out whether you have the right to work, but also the conditions under which you are allowed to work. If you have a Health and Social Care Visa you are required to work for a specific sponsor. You can work an additional 20 hours a week in a certain occupation but only if you continue to be employed by your sponsor. See Tables 1, 2 or 3 of the Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations for a full list of the types of occupations you can work in. You can also only undertake this additional employment outside of the normal working hours under which your certificate of sponsorship was assigned.
It is important to remember that while you may be able to access a share code confirming your right to work, if you are no longer employed by your sponsor you will not be allowed to work an additional 20 hours a week until you get a new sponsor.
If the Home Office identifies that you have been working in breach of the conditions of your visa this could be used as a ground to refuse your future visa application. Knowingly breaching your visa conditions can also amount to a criminal offence.
When you are on a Health and Care Worker (or a Skilled Worker) visa, your permission to live and work in the UK is dependent on you being employed by an approved sponsor. If your employment with the sponsor ends, you will not be able to work, even if it is for another employer, until you have been issued a new grant of permission to stay in the UK. This could mean finding a different sponsor.
What about working part time for 20h/week? Most people with a Health and Care Worker (or a Skilled Worker) visa will have permission to work 20 hours a week with another employer, while they are employed by their sponsor. It is important to remember that if you are no longer employed by your sponsor, you will not be allowed to work an additional 20 hours a week until you get a new sponsor.
Not usually. Migrant workers with permission under the Health and Care Worker (or Skilled Worker) route cannot claim public funds (such as welfare benefits) under the Immigration Rules, and they cannot under normal circumstances ask the Home Office for permission to access public funds.
If there are particularly compelling circumstances, such as you are facing destitution or homelessness, you can apply on discretionary grounds to access these funds. This is known as an application to vary the conditions of your leave.
Please seek immigration legal advice. If your application is refused, the Home Office may reconsider whether you continue to meet the requirements of the immigration route under which you were given permission, and your permission could be cancelled. Please see the relevant Home Office guidance.
You may be able to apply for other financial support from your local council if you are facing destitution or homelessness.
There is currently no single, publicly available register of all the employers who operate in the care sector, and who are authorised to sponsor migrant workers. However, you can get this information in other ways. Please be vigilant, and never pay for recruitment.
First, you can do an internet search for terms like “jobs in care with sponsorship”. Most vacancies on job boards such as indeed.com will specify if they can sponsor migrant workers.
The Care Quality Commission has a list of employers operating in the care sector. You can use their search engine to filter by industry area (eg: care) and the area where you would like to find work (eg: London). Next, you can check if an employer is authorised to sponsor migrant workers, by searching their name in the government’s register of sponsors (you will have to download that list, as the version available online includes only a small subset of employers). However, there is no guarantee these are legitimate as employers, as our caseworkers have come across companies on the registered sponsors' list that are not genuine.
There is also a specific list of approved NHS recruiters who may also be able to support you with finding a new employer. You can access the list here and search for organisations that provide support with recruitment for ‘senior care workers’ ‘care workers’ and other relevant job types: Ethical Recruiters List | NHS Employers.
If you are a member of a union, they may also be able to support you with finding alternative employment.
You should not be required to pay any recruitment fees. See section on recruitment fees.
Assuming you still have a valid immigration status, you should be able to apply for permission to stay in the UK under the Health and Care Worker (or Skilled Worker) route. To do this, you need to ensure your potential employer is a licensed sponsor (you can check this on the Home Office register), that you are assigned a valid certificate of sponsorship, and that you meet the specific requirements for the application you are making (including the skill, salary, and English language requirements).
An employer might have their sponsorship licence revoked by the Home Office if they are found to be breaking the rules of exploiting their workers. If that happens, the Home Office will normally curtail the visas of all migrant workers sponsored by that employer.
This means you will have to obtain a new immigration status if you want to remain and work in the UK.
If an employer or recruiter asks you to pay fees, ask for an itemised list of what these fees are for so that you can contest them.
You should never be required to pay any recruitment fees. Genuine employers or recruiters will never charge you money to give you a job, as this is illegal in the UK.
Employers should not try to recoup sponsorship costs. To sponsor migrant workers, employers need to pay certain fees to the Home Office. This includes their sponsorship licence fee, as well as fees for the certificate of sponsorship and, where applicable, the Immigration Skills Surcharge. However, they should not try to recoup these charges from you or your wages. The Home Office may revoke the sponsor’s licence if they are caught doing this.
If you have an employment agreement containing clawback clauses for your visa fee, and believe these provisions are not lawful, you should approach a qualified employment lawyer for advice.