Skilled workers mistreated by sponsors can move company and finish visa term
EXCLUSIVE: Skilled workers mistreated by sponsors can move company and finish visa term, Home Office admits
New visa guidelines will safeguard care workers, chefs and others who could lose their immigration status under post-Brexit laws if they quit an abusive job, the Home Office said.
If an employee was deemed to be a victim of modern slavery they would be able to work for any employer for the balance of their visa, officials added.
Skilled Worker Visa Sponsorship Rules
Boris Johnson’s Conservative government proposed a system in 2021 to fill post-Brexit employment shortages, tying the migration status of those on skilled worker visas to a sponsoring firm.
This meant that workers on that route, who have no recourse to public finances, risked having to leave the UK if they lost their employment and could not swiftly find a new sponsor company.
Campaigners have been warned that the regulation was being misused by rogue employers who utilise the precarious status of workers in the UK to underpay them, force them to put in long hours, or to push them into zero hour conditions.
Modern Slavery Victims Can Change Employer
From Thursday, the restriction linking an individual’s immigration status to a particular sponsor will be lifted if they are given a positive “conclusive grounds” decision recognising them as a victim of modern slavery through the national referral mechanism – the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.
Maj Heather Grinsted, The Salvation Army’s deputy director of anti-trafficking and modern slavery, said: “It’s so important to give survivors the opportunity to work for another sponsor for the rest of their visa to help them rebuild their lives safely and with dignity.”
However, the CEO of the Work Rights Center, Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, warned that the improvements “could be a gamechanger” but the impact “depends on how accessible the modern slavery framework is”.
“We have been warning the Home Office for almost three years that the sponsorship system introduced post-Brexit is a recipe for labour exploitation, and have urged officials to free people’s visas from their employers’ control,” she added.
Sponsor Licence Revocations
The Guardian last week reported the number of businesses losing their licence to sponsor workers for abuse had reached historic levels.
Labour came to power and more than 6,600 sponsors have already had their licences revoked. There were more than 4,400 in the year to June 2026, a growth of 140% over the previous year.
What Is Modern Slavery?
Modern slavery can involve forced labour and work and living conditions that are exploitative, withholding pay, fraud, intimidation, threats, assault, restricted movement, or confiscation of passports.
Ministers said the rule change will benefit care workers, cooks, hotel professionals and others who came to the UK in good faith, but suffered mistreatment.
Where any indication of illegality is found, sponsors will be sent to the police.
UK Immigration Changes for Sponsored Workers
Minister for migration and citizenship Jo White said “No victim of modern slavery should be stuck with an exploitative employer because of their immigration status. These improvements will allow victims to escape abusive employment and restore their lives.
“We support them but we are also cracking down on those responsible. “Rogue sponsors who exploit workers will be subject to the full force of the law.”
The immigration white paper also makes it easier for sponsored workers to change employer, enhancing measures against exploitation, the ministry said.
In response to the lack of safeguards several councils and unions had introduced their own measures. Unison had worked with care workers and councils to establish a migrant care workers charter.
111,000 skilled worker visas were issued in year, down 76% from the peak in the year to December 2023. This follows a halt to new international applications for care worker visas after July 2025.