Employment Law Care Sector Update – International recruitment in the social care sector
22nd October, 2024
It's widely known that as the UK's population ages, the gap between the number of people who require paid for care and the number of care givers is widening.
The projections by Skills for Care, contained in their report published earlier this month, A Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care in England, suggests that between 2023 and 2040 the number of people aged 65 and over in the population will have increased by 29%, requiring 540,000 extra new posts in the care sector.
The report also confirmed that staff turnover in the sector was the lowest it has been since 2014/15 and the vacancy rate has decreased to 8.3%, but the number of people with a British nationality in the sector has decreased in the last two years by more than 70,000. Coupled with the fact that one in three new starters in the independent sector were recruited internationally, international recruitment has been a driving force in bringing about these improvements.
The question however must be how long this can continue for?
The Conservative government implemented the restriction on international care workers and senior care workers bringing their dependant family members to the UK on 11 March 2024. The effect of this change is clearly reflected in the statistics which show that between April and September 2024 health and care visa applications reduced by 83% in comparison to the same 6 month period in 2023. There is no suggestion that this change will be reversed under the new Labour government.
The UK has historically relied on international care workers from the Philippines and India, as well as many other countries, but they are facing an even more pronounced trend in the ratio of older people who require care, to working age people, who are able to provide such care. This, along with ever tightening restrictions by the Home Office, will make it harder to rely on overseas recruitment to fill our vacancies in the future.
Despite this, the number of organisations applying to become a registered sponsor for the Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker visa remains significant. As the desire to immigrate to the UK decreases, competition within the existing labour market is increasing as care workers and nurses move between sponsoring employers. Going forwards, focussing on integration into the local workforce and community, spotting and preventing exploitation, training and appropriate contractual terms will be key to retaining international talent in the sector in the long-term.
If you would like more information about international recruitment, get in touch with a member of our dedicated Care Home Immigration specialists.
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
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