UK CARE WORK SLAVERY: Zim cases second highest; woman says worked 18-hour shifts, 10 days in a row

“If she complained or spoke up about her rights, her employer threatened to report her to the Home Office and have her deported. They had also threatened to harm Janet and her family in Zimbabwe if she reported the situation.”

By Staff Reporter

UNITED KINGDOM: A national helpline for victims of modern slavery is recording a steep rise in contact from overseas workers in the care sector with the second highest number of calls involving Zimbabweans.

The latest report by UK charity Unseen, indicated that more than 700 care staff used its helpline in 2022 with the data showing a steep rise since 2021.

Unseen operates the UK’s Modern Slavery and Exploitation Helpline.

“As the UK opens up new visa routes for employment to meet labour shortages the potential for exploitation increases. Many workers who come to the UK do not know their rights or how to raise a concern,” Unseen said in its latest report which was released on Monday.

Of the cases recorded in 2022, 45 involved Zimbabweans, and were the second highest behind India with Nigeria third, followed by Ghana and Tanzania.

“In the first half of 2023 the top three nationalities indicated were consistent with 2022, with high numbers from India (63, 20%), Zimbabwe (20, 6%) and Nigeria (20, 6%),” reads the report.

According to the report, one of the key factors driving the modern slavery is “debt bondage”.

The UK uses the ‘employer pays principle’ (EPP) in relation to the Health and Care visa, which requires that no worker should pay for a job; rather, recruitment costs should be borne by the employer.

The only fees individuals are required to pay is an application fee of £247 to the Home Office on applying for a Health and Social Care visa while the employer is required to pay an immigration skills charge of £364 and £199 for the certificate of sponsorship.

“Yet we are continuously hearing about workers being charged considerably higher fees by their employers,” reads the report.

“With many people in the care sector paying thousands of pounds to third-party facilitators in their home country, workers can arrive in the UK with substantial debt.

Debt bondage

“In other situations, workers are paying huge fees directly to their employers at the care companies for certificates of sponsorship.”

In one case study cited in the report, “Janet (not real name) was recruited from Zimbabwe* to work in a residential care home. She did not receive a contract, and her employer charged her £10,000 for a certificate of sponsorship.

“She was then forced to work more than her agreed hours, sometimes working 18-hour shifts for up to 10 days in a row. Janet should have been paid the National Minimum Wage.

“However, deductions were made from her pay to recoup the £10,000, leaving her with as little as £200 per month. On some days she could not afford to eat.

“If she complained or spoke up about her rights, her employer threatened to report her to the Home Office and have her deported. They had also threatened to harm Janet and her family in Zimbabwe if she reported the situation.”

Zimbabwe has been among the leading source countries for labour as the UK looked overseas to help plug critical staffing gaps in its care sector.

A government migration report released in May this year, showed that Zimbabwe was third behind India and Nigeria in terms of work visas granted in the health and social care sector. Some 17,421 Zimbabweans left the country for the UK last year, up 562% on the 2,630 recorded the previous year.

Among its recommendations, there charity, the charity said there was nee to “ensure sufficient information about workers’ rights and transfer of sponsorship is provided to people intending to travel to the UK to work in the care sector using a Health and Care visa”.

There is also a need to “introduce additional checks at visa issuing centres in countries of origin to ensure visa applicants have not paid recruitment fees to a third party”.

The government was also urged to “establish a clear channel for reporting to the Home Office and Department of Health employers who charge workers for certificates of sponsorship.”