Immigration Changes are Worsening The Care Crisis says Unison
The Government’s immigration reforms are worsening the social care staffing crisis, trade union UNISON has warned.
UNISON’s analysis of the latest industry employment figures shows the number of new international recruits hired into care jobs plunged from 105,000 in 2023/24 to 30,000 in 2025/26.
Over that same period, the number of social care jobs filled by British workers has dropped by 70,000.
This shows, the union says, the government is wrong to claim that slowing the flow of staff from overseas will increase domestic uptake.
UNISON has written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood highlighting the situation and urging her to drop plans that would make it harder for migrant care staff to settle in the UK for good.
The union is demanding she reverses plans to make international health and care staff wait 15 years before they can settle in the UK, instead of the current five.
Tripling the wait time for permanent status will cause chaos and irreparable damage to a sector that needs international workers, says UNISON. It’s also morally wrong to apply new rules after workers have moved here, adds the union.
Restricting overseas recruitment will worsen the care worker shortage, when there are already 96,000 vacancies, says UNISON. Thousands of people who need help won’t get the vital care they need, stretching services further and putting greater pressure on staff.
UNISON says the current system also leaves workers open to appalling exploitation. The union is calling for international care staff to be given sector-wide visa sponsorship rather than tying them to one employer.
At present, staff are often too scared to highlight concerns about excessive hours, poverty wages and squalid living conditions. This is because they’re worried bad bosses will withdraw sponsorship, meaning they could be forced to leave the UK.
In the letter to Ms Mahmood, the union says: “Poor pay in social care is not evidence of the workers’ low skill or contribution. It is the result of longstanding policy failure. The prime minister has acknowledged this and stated his ambition to increase the wages of care staff.
“It would be deeply unfair and contradictory for immigration policy to treat care workers as low value simply because they’re in a poorly-paid sector, while the government tries to improve the status, respect and reward for care work.”
UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan added: “If the government’s serious about fixing social care, it should immediately scrap these cruel plans that will make it harder to recruit staff.
“Terrible pay and working conditions are creating shortages in the social care sector. These figures make that crystal clear. A massive drop in overseas workers has not led to rising domestic recruitment or higher wages.
“Attempts to force existing staff out of the country are wrong by every measure. If the government doesn’t drop these plans, the prime minister’s hope of transforming the lives of millions through a national care service will never happen.”
