UK care firms should hire foreign workers already in country, says government

LONDON (Reuters) - British social care providers will have to prioritise hiring foreign care workers already in the country before recruiting from overseas, the government said on Wednesday, as it cracks down on worker abuse in a sector heavily reliant on immigration.

The move follows the introduction in November of stronger sanctions for rogue employers who recruit foreign workers but failed to provide them with work, leaving some unemployed and close to destitution.

Others are out of work due to the government revoking the licenses of rogue employers to hire overseas workers.

A survey of more than 3,000 people on health and care worker visas last month showed many had paid fraudulent fees to secure a job only to find no work after arriving in Britain. It also highlighted that some were living in overcrowded housing  and earning less than the minimum wage.

Care providers in England who wish to recruit from overseas will now have to show they have first tried to hire someone with a care sector visa who is already in the country but out of work, Britain's Home Office said.

"Those who have come to the UK to support our adult care sector should have the opportunity to do so, free from abuse and exploitation," Migration Minister Seema Malhotra said.

Nearly a third of all care workers in England are migrants, many having arrived from countries such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe, India and the Philippines to fill thousands of vacancies after Britain left the European Union and to meet the healthcare demands of an ageing population.

Charities and trade unions say Britain's post-Brexit system of allowing companies to sponsor workers to receive a visa empowers unscrupulous employers who can use the threat of deportation to abuse workers.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William James)