Migrant Workers: Care Workers

(asked on 11th July 2022) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority on the (a) prevalence and (b) implications for her policies of the exploitation of workers recruited to the care sector from overseas.


Answered by
Kevin Foster Portrait
Kevin Foster
This question was answered on 18th July 2022

The Government takes reports of illegal and unsafe employment practices, including in the social care sector, incredibly seriously. The Government works closely with enforcement bodies, including the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA). Any information regarding allegations of Modern Slavery practices should be referred to the GLAA. In addition, the Government is guided by the Director of Labour Market Enforcement strategy, which includes an assessment of the scale and nature of non-compliance across all sectors, which enables the enforcement bodies to target their activity in areas of greatest concern.

Employers in the health and care sector are expected to adhere to the Department for Health and Social Care’s code of practice in their recruitment and support of overseas employees. This is in the process of being updated and will include stronger guidance on ensuring fairness in recruitment practices and setting out clear routes of escalation for anyone with concerns about exploitative recruitment or employment practices to ensure they can be fully investigated by the appropriate organisation.

The Home Office’s sponsor licence system also places clear and binding requirements and obligations on employers looking to recruit and manage overseas employees. Should an employer be found to be in breach of these requirements we will take action and can remove their ability to recruit from overseas.

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