look news india
The British government has taken a relief and epoch-making decision for millions of foreign workers in the United Kingdom (UK) who have been struggling with strict visa restrictions and arbitrariness of companies for a long time. The UK Home Office has made significant amendments to the rules related to Skilled Worker Visa and Health and Care Worker Visa, ensuring that the visa and work permit of foreign workers will not be automatically canceled if they leave a job from an exploitative or unethical company. Under earlier strict rules, a foreign worker’s visa was directly tied to his sponsoring employer. If an employee left a job due to poor working conditions, low pay, conditions akin to bonded labor, or mental harassment, his or her visa would immediately fall under ‘curtailment’ and he or she would have to leave the country unless new sponsorship was obtained within 60 days. Under the new provisions, the UK government has given legal protection to foreign professionals that they can get out of the clutches of such oppressive companies and work elsewhere during their current visa period without losing their immigration status.
In the last few years in Britain, especially after Brexit, millions of foreign workers were called on sponsorship visas to meet the huge labor shortage in the National Health Service (NHS), social care sector, hospitality, IT and construction sector. Among these, the number of professionals from countries like India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Philippines was highest. However, this arrangement had a serious structural flaw—Visa was completely owned by the employing company. Due to this, many dishonest and fake agencies started taking advantage of foreign employees. In many cases, it has come to light that foreign care workers were charged illegal fees of 10,000 to 20,000 pounds in the name of providing them jobs, they were paid less than the minimum wage, made to work excessive hours and if they complained, they were given open threats of immediate cancellation of visas and deportation from the country. Since under UK immigration rules, Skilled Worker Visa holders do not get the benefit of Government Welfare Fund (No Recourse to Public Funds – NRPF), the workers were forced to work suffocated for fear of becoming destitute.
According to new provisions notified by the British Home Ministry, if a foreign worker is employed by a company that is engaged in modern slavery, wage theft or serious violations of labor standards, he or she will be provided immediate protection:
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Continuation of Visa Status: If a harassed or exploited employee leaves their job, their visa status will not be cancelled, but they will be allowed to remain in the UK legally for the remainder of their original visa period.
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Right to work otherwise: The employee will be given immediate freedom to work for other approved employers to earn his living, so that he does not have to remain without pay or become homeless.
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60 days sword removed: Under normal circumstances, the mental pressure of the narrow deadline of 60 days for termination of sponsorship has been reduced, so that workers can get their careers back on track without any panic.
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Fear of deportation ends on complaint: Workers can now lodge complaints of exploitation with the Home Office and Labor Commission without hesitation, as no retaliatory immigration action will be taken against the person filing the complaint.
As well as protecting the rights of foreign workers in the UK, the Home Office has launched its biggest-ever nationwide crackdown on employers who breach the rules. According to recent data, a record number of sponsor licenses of more than 4,400 employer companies have been suspended or canceled altogether within a year, a huge jump of more than 140 percent compared to previous years. The UK Immigration Department has made it clear that companies which evade taxes by hiring foreign workers only on paper, or charge them huge amounts and do not give them proper hours of work, will not be spared under any circumstances. The Home Ministry has bluntly said that on one hand, the victimized workers will get protection, while on the other hand, the entire noose of the law will be tightened against the evil sponsors who exploit the workers.
The biggest and direct benefit of this policy change is going to be the Indian community working in Britain. India is the largest source country for sending workers to the UK on the skilled worker and healthcare visa route. Thousands of Indian nurses, caregivers, physiotherapists, IT professionals and chefs are serving in various UK cities like London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow. Many of these people were facing complaints of local care home operators giving them less money under the threat of working less than the prescribed hours or threatening visa cancellation. Now Indian workers will be able to leave such exploitative companies without any legal fear. Additionally, the administrative processes for switching from one employer to another legitimate sponsor are also being digitized and expedited to provide seamless opportunities to Indian talent to advance their careers.
According to the British Government, this reform is an important part of their wider ‘Immigration White Paper’ commitments, the main aim of which is to reduce the dependence of foreign workers on any one specific company. The Government believes that only a flexible and fair labor market can strengthen the UK economy. When workers have the freedom to leave a bad workplace and move to a better one, it will automatically improve standards of pay and workplace safety across industries. This rule has emerged as a strong legal shield for any foreign citizen working in Britain, due to which there is huge enthusiasm among Indian professionals from Dalal Street to the financial and health corridors of London.