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.

With agents deducting part of their salaries until the debts are repaid – while holding their passports or residence permits like a ransom – the echoes of Qatar’s shameful preparations for November’s feast of football are obvious.

And these problems are growing. The Care Quality Commission has highlighted a “notable rise” in referrals for modern slavery to 14 this year so far, double the total for all of 2021.

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority is calling for better monitoring by care homes to “prevent debt bondage and highlight potential traffickers”, according to an internal report seen by The Observer.

Theresa May made it her mission to defeat modern slavery – to “put slave masters behind bars where they belong” – so what is going wrong?

This is where our so-called “points-based immigration system” comes in, the rules introduced after Brexit ended the free movement of EU citizens, as we are told the voters demanded.

In reality, it is not “points-based” at all, a fib invented to summon up images of Australia, that carefree land of sun, sea and surf, but an “employer-sponsored” system.

To obtain a visa to work in the UK, a worker must find a boss willing to give them a job and authorise their visa – bosses who, in the care sector, turn to ruthless agencies.

I am sure Priti Patel, when she relaxed rules to allow more care workers to come to Britain – if sponsored by an employer – did not intend this to happen, but that appears to be the result.

Campaigners say there is an obvious solution; allow would-be care workers to apply for jobs directly through a government website, cutting out the evil middlemen.

The sector could be overseen by the Gangmasters Authority, as agriculture is, requiring agents to obtain a licence to supply workers – with a strict bar on charging fees and regular inspections.

I asked the Home Office if it would consider that move and to comment on the criticism that its post-Brexit immigration rules are fuelling appalling abuse. It did not respond to either question.