3. Building trust and understanding with migrant workers
Zero-hours contracts, unpaid travel, and overwork
Zero-hours contracts are rife, especially in domiciliary care. Workers are asked to cover long hours with short calls, often with unpaid travel time between visits, which is a potential breach of minimum wage law. This creates further deep financial insecurity.
“ You might be out from 6am to 10pm, but only paid for 10 hours. That’ s the norm in domiciliary care.”– UNISON rep
Isolation and long hours
Domiciliary care in particular isolates workers from colleagues and support networks. With shifts spread across long hours and travel between clients, many migrant workers don’ t know who they work with, or sometimes even who their employer really is.
“ They don’ t even know their colleagues. They’ re just driving place to place.” – UNISON rep
This makes informal support and union contact difficult. Migrant workers often don’ t get breaks, time with family, or chances to participate in union life.
Discrimination and racism
Discrimination remains widespread – especially against agency staff and those on temporary contracts. Migrant workers may be disciplined or dismissed based on language misunderstandings, cultural differences or assumptions, and feel unable to challenge it due to fear of retaliation or other pressures
“ Permanent staff treat agency workers differently. They tell them what to do, even when it’ s not fair or safe.”– UNISON rep in social care
Debt and other financial pressures
Most migrant workers are not entitled to access to public funds( see Chapter 7), this means they have no safety net and cannot claim Universal Credit or housing benefits. Many support families back home, often while paying off debts linked to recruitment or visas. This means even a few missed shifts can be catastrophic. As a result, many stay silent.
“ If the campaign goes wrong, what happens to me? Will I lose my visa, my job, my home?” – UNISON rep in social care
“ Eighty percent are scared their sponsorship will be revoked. That’ s why they don’ t speak up.” – UNISON rep, NHS
LRD • Supporting migrant workers 19