The government must drop plans to cap overseas care staff numbers and act to stop employers exploiting those already working in the UK, says UNISON today (Tuesday).

The union says proposals reportedly being drawn up by immigration minister Robert Jenrick to curb migration would be disastrous for adult social care. The draft plans are understood to include a limit on overseas care staff numbers and a ban on them bringing dependants here.

In a new report, Expendable labour, UNISON highlights how care staff are propping up a crumbling care system and calls for the government to end the exploitation they face.

The document calls for a change in visa rules so migrant care staff aren’t deported when care firms collapse and these workers lose their jobs...

Skilled overseas workers, which include care staff, currently have 60 days to find a new employer and sponsor. The union says this is not long enough and is calling for a change in visa rules. A visa extension would allow overseas care workers more time to find new employment, says UNISON.  

This will prevent employers threatening deportation if staff try to leave their jobs, says UNISON.  

In addition, the union wants immigration rules to change so that migrant care workers will only have to pay once for a work visa, and not every time they get a new job.

Other recommendations outlined in the report include that ministers should provide councils with new guidance on how to tackle unscrupulous care employers...