Home Secretary pushed to reconsider if workforce shortages are to be addressed
New figures suggest government immigration policy changes would worsen social care staffing problem, claims UNISON.
The union’s examination of the latest industry employment numbers reveals the number of new overseas candidates employed into care jobs plummeted from 105,000 in 2023/24 to 30,000 in 2025/26.
The number of British workers in social care jobs has fallen by 70,000 over the same period.
The union said this showed the administration was mistaken to argue that a reduction in international staff will boost domestic uptake.
UNISON has written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood about the situation and called on her to scrap measures which would make it difficult for migrant care staff to settle in the UK for good.
The union wants her to scrap proposals for international health and care personnel to have to wait 15 years to settle in the UK instead of the current five years.
UNISON said that trebling the time to permanent status will bring confusion and irreversible damage to a sector that needs international workers. The union also says it’s morally wrong to implement new standards after workers have migrated here.
UNISON warns that cutting abroad recruiting will increase the care worker shortfall which already stands at 96,000 openings. Thousands of individuals who need help will not get the crucial care they need, putting more pressure on services and staff.
UNISON claims the existing system exposes workers to horrific exploitation. The union wants overseas care staff to be offered visa sponsorship across the sector rather than with just one employer.
Currently staff are often too afraid to complain about long hours, low earnings and terrible housing circumstances. That’s because they’re scared that terrible bosses will withdraw funding, meaning they could be forced to leave the UK.
In the letter to Ms Mahmood, the union said: “Poor pay in social care is not a reflection of the lack of skill or contribution of the workers. It’s the outcome of decades of policy failure. This has been recognised by the prime minister who has promised to improve the pay of care staff.
“It would be deeply unfair and contradictory for immigration policy to treat care workers as low value simply because they are in a poorly paid sector, when the government is trying to raise the status, respect and reward for care work.”
UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan said: “If the government is serious about fixing social care, it should scrap these cruel plans immediately, which will make it harder to recruit staff.
“Poverty pay and poor conditions are leading to shortages in social care. Those stats make that very clear. There has been a big decline in offshore workers but this has not translated to more domestic recruiting or greater wages.
“Trying to push existing staff out of the country is wrong on every count. If the government does not scrap these plans then the prime minister’s ambition to change the lives of millions with a national care service will never come to fruition.”