Exploitation of overseas care staff exposed by BBC documentary
Posted 21 December 2023 - 08:00
Panorama investigation finds a worker being pressured to pay back thousands to care home if they want to leave their contract, in a TV programme the RCN calls ‘deeply disturbing’
Care home staff from overseas have said they feel exploited and trapped, believing their contracts prevent them from leaving their employer, an investigation has revealed.
A BBC Panorama investigation sent an undercover reporter to take up a job as a care assistant at Addison Court, part of Prestwick Care, in Crawcrook in the north-east of England. He worked at the care home from September to November this year.
Nurse pressured to pay back thousands of pounds
One Indian nurse who worked there came to the UK from Kerala in 2018. He was asked to sign a contract that stated if he left the company within five years he would have to pay back more than £4,000, which included money the company had already paid to the Home Office and in legal fees for his visa.
He said he was told by the company that if he did not want to stay on that contract he could ‘go back to India’.
The nurse eventually resigned after being offered a more senior position at another care home. Prestwick Care began legal action, claiming he owed more than £5,000. He was also told his contract prevented him from working for any competitor care home for six months. The legal action was settled by his new employer.
Care home owner says concerns will be ‘thoroughly investigated’
Some staff had paid between £6,000 and £10,000 for their visas through a recruitment firm. A three-year visa costs £284 through the UK government.
Concerns about short-staffing impacting patient care were also heard during the investigation.
Prestwick Care has said issues raised within the BBC Panorama investigation will be ‘thoroughly investigated and action taken if and where appropriate’.
A spokesperson said: ‘Immediately upon being approached by BBC Panorama, we contacted the Care Quality Commission and other stakeholders to notify them of this fact. The safety and welfare of all of our residents and staff is of paramount importance to us.’
‘There is a serious crisis in social care’
Commenting on the investigation, RCN director for England Patricia Marquis said: ‘The findings are deeply disturbing and, tragically, far from unique.
‘While most care homes are professionally well run, there is a serious crisis in social care that leaves some of the most vulnerable people in our society at risk.’
Modern slavery on the rise in care sector
The investigation comes amid a rise in the number of calls from care staff to charity Unseen, which runs a modern slavery and exploitation helpline. A report from the charity in October identified 712 potential victims of exploitation from the care sector in 2022, making up almost a fifth (18%) of suspected victims from all work sectors.
Speaking on BBC Radio Four this week, former anti-slavery commissioner Dame Sara Thornton said the number of potential victims of modern slavery in the care sector is expected to have risen again for 2023.
Watch the BBC Panorama investigation
Read more about the Unseen report
Modern Slavery in the Care Sector
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