“Sent home: how Kenyan’s dream of life as a UK care worker turned sour”

…[Kenyan care worker Mbare] … paid £2,500 in “admin” fees to a domiciliary agency which, he claims, promised him a full-time, minimum-wage job…

…he was forced to return …“£10,000 in debt” and with no job…He claims his employer fired him and terminated his visa sponsorship after he raised concerns about working conditions. It then failed to provide him with a reference, he says, thwarting his chances of finding another care sector sponsor – and leaving him unable to remain in the UK…

…he was told by his sponsor, Merit Healthcare, that he would work 40 hours a week for £10.20 per hour…

…Mbare made … hundreds less than he was expecting…

…care workers who paid agencies up to £8,000 for jobs in the UK…

Mbare’s story also raises questions about checks performed on companies granted sponsor licences…

The Home Office declined to answer questions about Mbare’s case, but said it “strongly condemned” any companies that hired migrant workers “under false pretences”…

Merit Healthcare Ltd…said it followed Home Office rules and denied any wrongdoing….

The company denied its vehicle policies were unfair…

A spokesperson for Merit said … the “real” issue was government underfunding of social care…