Care workers and others fleeing UK modern slavery win visa reprieve

Care workers, chefs and others in danger of losing their migration status under post-Brexit rules if they leave an exploitative employer will be helped by new visa changes, the Home Office says.Officials said if an employee was found to be a victim of modern slavery they would be allowed to work for any employer for the remainder of their visa.The migration status of people on skilled worker visas was tied to a sponsoring employer, under a scheme introduced to fill post-Brexit Labour shortages by Boris Johnson’s Conservative government in 2021.It meant workers on that route, who have no recourse to public funds, risked having to leave the UK if they lost their job and could not quickly find a new sponsoring employer.Campaigners have been warning the rule was being exploited by rogue employers, who use workers’ precarious status in the UK to underpay them, force them to put in long hours, or to force them into zero-hour conditions.From Thursday, the restriction tying an individual’s immigration status to a specific sponsor will be lifted if they receive a positive “conclusive grounds” decision formally 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.The Salvation Army’s deputy director of anti-trafficking and modern slavery, Maj Heather Grinsted, said: “Allowing survivors to work for another sponsor for the remainder of their visa is a crucial way to help them rebuild their lives safely and with dignity.”However, Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of the Work Rights Centre, cautioned that while the changes “could be a gamechanger”, the impact depended “on how accessible the modern slavery framework is”.She added: “For almost three years we have warned the Home Office that the sponsorship system instituted after Brexit is a recipe for Labour exploitation, and have urged officials to free people’s visas from their employers’ control.”modern slavery can include abusive working and living conditions, withheld wages, deception, intimidation, threats, violence, controlled movement, or confiscated passports. Photograph: Matthew Chattle/ShutterstockLast week the Guardian reported that the number of employers being stripped of their licence to sponsor workers for abuses had hit record levels.More than 6,600 sponsors have been stripped of licences since Labour came to power. Of these, more than 4,400 were in the year to June 2026, a 140% rise on the year before.modern slavery can include abusive working and living conditions, withheld wages, deception, intimidation, threats, violence, controlled movement, or confiscated passports.Ministers say the rule change will help care workers, chefs, hospitality staff and others who came to the UK in good faith, but faced abuse.Where evidence of criminality is identified, sponsors will be referred to the police.The minister for migration and citizenship, Jo White, said: “No victim of modern slavery should be trapped with an exploitative employer because of their immigration status. These changes will give victims the freedom to leave abusive workplaces and rebuild their lives.“While we support them, we are also cracking down on those responsible. Rogue sponsors who exploit workers will face the full force of the law.”The government says it is also making it easier, through the immigration white paper, for sponsored workers to change employer, strengthening protections against exploitation.A lack of safeguards had led unions and some councils to introduce their own provisions, with Unison working with care workers and councils to produce a migrant care workers charter.Last year 111,000 skilled worker visas were granted, 76% fewer than at the peak in the year ending December 2023. The fall came after new overseas applications for care worker visas were stopped after July 2025.