Appendix II Migrant Workers’ Charter
Loss of Sponsorship & Threats of Deportation
The threat of deportation and loss of immigration status has been used by some care employers as leverage to break employment law and treat migrant care workers poorly. This risk underlies the majority of the other issues facing migrant care workers.
Signatory local authorities will:
4. Require that contracted care providers inform them when they intend to dismiss a sponsored worker.
5. Audit and expand, as possible, which roles directly employed by the Local Authority are eligible for sponsorship.
6. Identify sponsors of last resort, or become a sponsor of last resort, for migrant care workers who have been victimised or have had their employment terminated through no fault of their own.
Illegal Fees and Unfair Repayment Clauses
Many migrant care workers have been forced to pay exorbitant and unlawful fees, running to thousands of pounds, while being threatened with removal of their visa sponsorship and informing the Home Office. It is illegal to charge for all recruitment costs, including certificates of sponsorship, agency fees and sponsor licence fees. In addition, employment contracts sometimes include exorbitant repayment clauses for items such as training, transport and recruitment fees. These repayment clauses exist in a grey area of legality and can trap workers into working for exploitative employers.
Signatory local authorities will:
7. Ensure contracted care providers, either directly or through an intermediary, do not charge illegal fees.
8. Require that repayment clauses in contractor care providers’ employment contracts adhere to the government’ s standards of being“ transparent, proportionate, time-limited and flexible”
9. Support workers who are victims of either illegal fees or unfair repayment clauses, by:
a. Arranging or becoming the sponsor of such workers who have been dismissed for not paying.
b. Supporting these workers in recovering any illegal fees
88 LRD • Supporting migrant workers