*This an abridged version of an article published Sunday by the UK-based Observer newspaper
LONDON: Thousands of migrant workers came to Britain after a government recruitment drive to fill more than 100,000 vacancies in social care.
The job would pay £10 an hour – just above minimum wage. But it came at a price.
An Observer investigation has uncovered a booming industry of recruitment agencies supplying workers to care homes and domiciliary care firms across Britain that pass recruitment costs on to candidates.
Requiring workers to pay recruitment fees for finding or trying to find them jobs is illegal in the UK and breaches international labour standards.
Workers from countries including India, the Philippines, Ghana and Zimbabwe – many of whom arrived via a new visa scheme for care workers launched in February – report being charged between £2,000 and £18,000 in illegal fees.
The recruiters appear to target workers in lower-income countries, particularly in Asia and Africa, enticing candidates with promises of good jobs or a “dream life” in the UK via social media and word of mouth.
Care workers have become trapped in debt bondage – a form of modern slavery – as a result of being made to pay the fees. Suspected victims described how agents had deducted money from their salaries and withheld their passport or residence permit until they repaid the debt.
John Ncube, who came to Britain from Zimbabwe earlier this year, said he had been forced to borrow money from relatives to cover the cost of a £2,000 “administration fee” for finding his job, with £250 a month deducted from his salary.
After rent, bills, food and other expenses – including a fee to hire a company car – he is left with “nothing”, despite working overtime. John, whose name has been changed to protect him, cannot leave his role because of a repayment clause that says he must pay almost £4,000 if he quits within two years.
“It’s frustrating and depressing. You’re really tired and you’re pushing yourself to the limit. It doesn’t make sense at all,” he said.
“Many people back home do not realise recruitment fees are illegal because they are so common. Even if they did, many would come anyway. That’s the most heartbreaking thing. The agents and employers see their desperation.”
In February, the government added care workers to the shortage occupation list, relaxing the requirements for them to come to Britain provided they are sponsored by an employer.
Announcing the scheme, home secretary Priti Patel said it would “help alleviate” the pressures by attracting thousands of international care workers. But four months on, the evidence suggests the route is being widely exploited by rogue recruiters.
New figures reveal that recruitment fees are part of a wider picture of worsening exploitation in the sector.
To tackle the problems, experts and campaigners are calling for greater oversight of the care sector and an overhaul of the Home Office visa sponsorship system.
Some have called for jobs to be advertised on a government portal to make it easier for candidates to apply directly, cutting out agents and other middlemen.
