INFORMATION NOTE: HEALTH AND CARE WORKERS VISA HOLDERS

Q: Are you planning to move to the UK on a Health and Care Workers Visa to join the care sector, or recently arrived? 

A: YES – this information will interest you.

You should subscribe and start engaging with the Care Workers Union (CWU) from a very early stage in the process of decision-making and settlement in the UK.  Coming to the UK to work is a major career decision. For some, this now means leaving dependants behind in their country of origin. It is also a significant financial undertaking. Therefore, it is important to invest in making sure the experience is as successful and rewarding as possible.  In the UK, you have a legal right to join a Trade Union, which can provide guidance and representation if there is a workplace dispute.  CWU offers more, providing independent and objective advice on a range of work-related settlement issues.

For instance, employment legislation in the UK is currently undergoing ground-breaking reforms, with  Government plans to introduce a new Employment Rights Bill between now and the end of 2024. It is therefore important to know your rights as an employee within the UK workforce. 

The CWU promotes the importance of valuing migrant workers within the care sector. Such workers have been part of the UK’s social care sector for decades, filling essential labour gaps. One in four (25.3%) care workers and home carers was born outside the UK, with 1 in 10 coming from African countries and 1 in 20 from Asia and the Middle East. (Migration and the labour market, Office for National Statistics, England and Wales: Census 2021)

Care workers can often be misguided, increasing their vulnerability to exploitation and abuse.  Sector leads recognise that migrant care workers are more susceptible to discrimination and unfair treatment within the workplace.

The CWU can support your transitioning and the effectiveness of your role as a care worker, helping you to hit the ground running.  We specialise in representing care workers through a range of employment challenges, such as:

  • Workplace settlement – through training and orientation
  • Combatting unfair treatment and discrimination in the workplace
  • Advice, guidance and representation in disciplinary matters

We offer both individual and group orientation and training sessions remotely to cater for specific requirements.

Based on our experience representing hundreds of care workers in the UK, our interventions focus on pre-emptive measures to support prevention and empowerment, especially those facing culturally specific challenges.  We also seek to partner with employers in helping to improve the terms and conditions of workers, through better workplace policies, procedures and practices.

Our Trade Union Representatives come from a range of diverse backgrounds and therefore able to empathise and quickly understand challenges and offer practical solutions.

 

Care Workers Union

23 July 2024

THE CARE QUALITY COMMISSION CRISIS RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT INTERNAL ACCOUTABILITY AND THE ABILITY OF REGULATORY BODIES TO BE HONEST ABOUT THEIR OWN FAILURES

In response to the Review into the operational effectiveness of the Care Quality Commission: Interim Report, published on 26 July 2024 [ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-into-the-operational-effectiveness-of-the-care-quality-commission/review-into-the-operational-effectiveness-of-the-care-quality-commission-interim-report ], Wes

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