Why post-Brexit immigration rules leave care workers treated like ‘modern slaves’

Alarming abuse likened to treatment of World Cup workers in Qatar is linked to our so-called ‘points-based’ system, writes Rob Merrick

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority is calling for better monitoring by care homes to ‘prevent debt bondage and highlight potential traffickers’ (Getty/iStock)

The evidence of how care workers from overseas are being treated in the UK is horrific, not unlike the abuse of those World Cup stadium builders in Qatar – like modern slavery, in fact.

These poor people – invited to the UK to tackle our staffing crisis, remember – have been found packed into rundown homes, sleeping on mattresses and eating leftovers from residents’ meals.

Some appear to be working 80 hours a week for the minimum wage and are trapped in “debt bondage”, having been charged up to £18,000 in illegal fees to come here, an investigation found.