Migrant workers in UK to fill care roles ‘charged up to £20,000’ in illegal fees Survey by Unison finds people on health and care worker visas also having to share beds and sleep rough.
Responding to the findings, Dr Shabna Begum, chief executive of the Runnymede Trust, said: “The racist treatment of migrant care workers, who are disproportionately people of colour, is symptomatic of the dreadful state of our broken care system.
Migrant workers who come to the UK to bolster the country’s care system are having to share beds, sleep rough, and are in some cases being charged more than £20,000 in illegal fees, according to research.
A survey of more than 3,000 people who have travelled to the UK on health and care worker visas found that just under a quarter had paid fees to their employer or an intermediary upfront before coming to the UK, in return for the promise of a job.
Jamila Duncan-Bosu, a solicitor at the Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit, a charity providing specialist legal support to survivors of trafficking and slavery, said: “Exploitation is baked into the systems which the UK uses to recruit migrant workers.
