Fresh calls have been made to ensure migrant nursing staff are protected from workplace exploitation and are able to leave ‘abusive jobs’.
A new report has called for improved safeguarding for migrant workers and increased penalties for employers who abuse visa sponsorship.
The report, from the charity Work Rights Centre, outlines three key recommendations to be introduced to better protect vulnerable nursing and other sponsored workers in the UK.
It comes as the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) recently warned of an eight-fold increase in concerns raised by migrant nursing staff who fear they are victims of exploitation within the social care sector.
What are the three recommendations?
‘Introduce a ‘UK Workplace Justice visa’ for victims of labour exploitation’
The report called for a ‘UK Workplace Justice visa’ to be given to victims of labour exploitation.
It pointed to examples of this used in other nations such as Australia, Canada and Finland in which the visa recognises the ‘injustice of migrant workers being exploited by a visa sponsor, and supports them to safeguard their immigration status, secure alternative employment and access remedy’.
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‘Extend the grace period between the end of employment and the curtailment of the visa, to empower all sponsored workers to leave abusive jobs’
Migrant workers who leave their employer currently have only 60 days to find another sponsor, once they have been informed that their visa will be curtailed.
The report, in line with previous calls from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said this period should be extended to six months.
This extension would match the provisions given to migrant workers in other countries, such as Canada, and provide workers with more security, Workers Rights Centre added.
‘Increase penalties for employers who abuse sponsorship’
The report also called for the introduction of new criminal and civil penalties against employers whose non-compliance with sponsorship rules risks the exploitation of staff.
It suggested penalties could help compensate workers directly for the consequences of mistreatment, such as when wages are not paid.
‘This new regime should also clamp down on employers who use threats of visa curtailment to silence grievances or coerce migrants into accepting unacceptable conditions at work,’ the report stated.
‘It may also help to subsidise the costs of running a UK Workplace Justice visa system at no charge to prospective applicants,’ it added.
The RCN’s response
Responding to today’s report, RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger, stressed that the current visa sponsorship system makes migrant nursing staff ‘vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous employers’.
‘Crucially, the government must extend the 60-day grace period for sponsored migrant workers to find new employment,’ she said.
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‘Migrant nursing staff need more security and flexibility when they’re moving between jobs.’
Before the general election last year, home secretary Yvette Cooper promised that the government would launch an investigation into the issue through a newly established enforcement body.
This body is yet to be established, and the union believes this investigation will not be completed until spring 2026 at the earliest.
‘The new Fair Work Agency must be backed with the powers and funding to go after rogue employers and stamp out these abhorrent practices,’ Professor Ranger also said.
Next steps for visa reform
The report also recommended that new immigration policy initiatives must involve ‘a broad range’ of stakeholders, including workers and organisations with direct experience of providing support and advocacy for migrant groups.
Overall, the report is clear that reforms can be implemented within the UK’s current system of employer-sponsorship.
‘The policy examples we examined indicate that there are real, achievable reforms the UK Government can make. The rest is a matter of political will,’ the report concluded.
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Minister for migration and citizenship, Seema Malhotra, said there are ‘serious consequences’ for those who mistreat workers under the current visa system.
‘We have already banned companies from charging workers for the cost of their sponsorship, and will be barring employers who repeatedly break immigration or employment laws from hiring overseas workers. In close collaboration with the care sector, we are also supporting care workers into alternative jobs when their sponsor has had their license removed.
‘I urge anyone with evidence of abuse or wrongdoing to come forward and safely report this to us and the relevant authorities so we can thoroughly investigate exploitative criminals,’ she added.
