Improving Care Worker Wellbeing.
Policy Paper: Six Urgent Asks
Tresacare calls for urgent action in support of displaced international care workers in the UK
Our new policy paper – presented to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, MP on September 3rd – highlights the urgent need for change. Displaced care workers are trained, experienced, and ready to work. But without government action, the UK risks wasting their skills and causing needless suffering.
We set out Six Urgent Asks: a safety net to prevent destitution, more visa flexibility, rapid re-employment pathways, support with driving tests and practical barriers, mental health provision, and stronger employer accountability.
This is not just a moral issue – it’s a workforce solution. Even if every displaced care worker were rehired, there would still be a massive shortfall.
The UK needs them. They are ready to care. The question is: are we ready to give them a chance?
#ChancetoCare
#ReadytoWork
#ReadytoCare
Read the full policy paper below or download the PDF version here:
At a glance
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40,000 international care workers displaced since 2022.1
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Only 6% of workers seeking help re-employed despite high demand.2
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Six Urgent Asks: Fast-track sponsorship, raise work hour limits, clear visa guidance, driving licence support, employer accountability, and trauma funding.
Why This Matters Now
The UK is in the middle of a care crisis. Over 470 care sector sponsor licences have been revoked since mid-2022, displacing an estimated 40,000 international care workers.1 These are the very people who make up 26% of the UK’s care workforce2 and contribute £3.2 billion to the UK economy through their work.3
Despite being qualified and ready to work, only 6% of those who sought help between July 2024 and February 2025 secured new employment.4 The rest remain in limbo – unable to work full-time, facing poverty, eviction, deportation, and trauma.
This isn’t just a human rights issue – it’s a public health emergency.
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400,000+ people are waiting for care assessments or services.5
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Care worker vacancy rates are at 8.3% – 3x the national average.2
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Turnover rate is high at 28.3%.7 Care providers tell us (Tresacare) that turnover can even be as high as 50% in the first 3 months of employment.
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80+% of NHS leaders say social care shortages fuel emergency care demand 8
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NHS loses £1.9 billion annually due to delayed discharges caused by care shortages.9
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The care sector spends £3 billion each year to recruit and retain care workers. 10
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By 2040, we will need 29% more care workers to meet demand.2
The Assisted Dying Bill further underscores the need for a stronger care workforce. With too few care homes, low pay deterring domestic recruitment, and rising demand for home-based care, international care workers are indispensable. Reducing their numbers would undermine both safe living and dignified dying.
We recognise and applaud government measures such as the Fair Pay Agreement, tighter sponsorship enforcement, and prioritising displaced care workers. But urgent support and clear guidance are still required.
Current immigration policies are forcing out trained, trusted staff at the very moment they are most needed.
What's Happening on the Ground: Case Studies
Tresacare works directly with displaced international care workers. We’ve documented dozens of devastating stories (see below). These are not isolated cases. They’re systemic – and they demand systemic solutions. In addition to the stories above, many have been subjected to illegal recruitment fees, debt bondage, and poor living conditions. UNISON has reported cases where care staff had to share beds with other workers or sleep rough due to exploitation by rogue employers.11
Motunrayo, a specialist in end-of-life care, facing deportation with her three children because her employer’s licence was revoked – through no fault of her own.
Peter, trapped in debt after trying to secure a UK driving licence required for most care roles – now locked out of work, sponsorship, and a future.
Two women, unable to attend funerals for fear of being denied re-entry, left mourning their fathers alone in the UK.
A worker, abandoned on arrival by a sponsor that never responded to calls or emails, was left stranded without work or income.
A woman, so broken by the pressure and instability that she said, “Thank God I lost my baby… I couldn’t provide for them.”
Six Urgent Asks: Immediate Policy Actions Required
To protect this essential workforce and relieve pressure on the NHS and local authorities, we urge the Government to immediately:
1. Fast-track Certificates of Sponsorship
Expedite re-employment for displaced care workers who have proven their value.
2. Raise Working Hour Limits
Increase the cap from 20 to 25+ hours/week to ensure income stability and make full use of available labour. Many care workers complete 12- or 8-hour shifts but struggle to secure more hours to make ends meet. Many international workers have been displaced for over 6 months, making it impossible to survive on such limited income.
3. Clarify Visa Guidance for Displaced Workers
Workers shouldn't be navigating complex immigration rules while facing displacement and potential deportation. Provide clear, accessible information for those facing licence expiry or revocation.
4. Support Employment Access
Fast-track driving license support for displaced workers, as most domiciliary care positions – which make up the majority of available roles – require UK driving licenses.
5. Strengthen Employer Accountability
Penalise rogue providers and reward ethical ones – ensure workers aren’t punished for their employer’s misconduct. This protects workers and ensures only responsible employers can sponsor international care workers.
6. Fund Mental Health Support
Acknowledge and address displacement trauma with accessible, community-based services, such as Tresacare's care worker wellbeing support services.
Tresacare’s Role in the Solution
We currently support over 800 care workers across the UK – many of whom are facing uncertainty, hardship, and displacement through no fault of their own. Our work has been recognised with awards including the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) Social Care Impact Award 2025, Entrepreneur's Award for Social Innovation 2024 and the National Care Forum (NCF) Care Innovation Challenge 2023. But the recognition we most value is action that creates lasting change. We are:
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Listening to displaced workers
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Gathering critical frontline data
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Providing proven, co-designed wellbeing support
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Collaborating with care providers and local authorities for solutions that scale
Tresacare founder Liz's LinkedIn post calling for support for Motunrayo – a displaced care worker – went viral, reaching more than 200,000 impressions. Thanks to the outpouring of support on social media, Mo eventually managed to secure new sponsorship and a job. But she is only one of 40,000+ displaced care workers still in desperate need of support.
We Call for Government Commitment to Six Urgent Asks
This is a defining moment for social care policy. We are submitting this strategy paper to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP, and call on the Government to commit to the Six Urgent Asks. Supporting displaced international care workers is not an isolated issue – it is central to:
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Stabilising the care system
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Reducing avoidable strain on the NHS
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Protecting dignity at every stage of life, including at the end
We ask for the active collaboration of the Secretary of State’s office and representation in a roundtable with key stakeholders to ensure these Six Urgent Asks are delivered.
These workers are not disposable. They are vital. The Government must act now to ensure they are seen, heard, and protected.
Your actions will
Support care workers
Support the NHS
Support people who receive care & support
Sources
1 UK Home Office. “Overseas Recruitment for Care Workers to End.” GOV.UK, May 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/overseas-recruitment-for-care-workers-to-end. 2 Skills for Care. “The State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England 2024,” https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Adult-Social-Care-Workforce-Data/Workforce-intelligence/documents/State-of-the-adult-social-care-sector/The-state-of-the-adult-social-care-sector-and-workforce-in-England-2024.pdf 3 Siobhan Owers, Asif Hanif, Georgia Marshall. “UK Government Ends Overseas Recruitment for Care Workers: A Bold New Direction.” https://www.fragomen.com/insights/uk-government-ends-overseas-recruitment-for-care-workers-a-bold-new-direction.html 4 UK Parliament. “Written questions, answers and statements” March 2025. https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-03-19/39615/ 5 Health and Social Care Committee. “Adult Social Care Reform: the cost of inaction.” May 2025. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmselect/cmhealth/368/report.html? 6 NHS England Digital. “Adult Social Care Activity and Finance Report, England, 2023-24.” Oct 2024.https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/adult-social-care-activity-and-finance-report/2023-24/requests-for-support 7 Skills for Care. “The size and structure of the adult social care sector and workforce in England 2024.” https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Adult-Social-Care-Workforce-Data/Workforce-intelligence/documents/Size-and-structure/The-size-and-structure-of-the-adult-social-care-workforce-in-England-2024.pdf 8 NHS Confederation. “System on a cliff edge: addressing challenges in social care capacity.” October 2023. https://www.nhsconfed.org/publications/system-cliff-edge-addressing-challenges-social-care-capacity 9 Liberal Democrats. “Press statement: ‘Bed blocking’ taking up to one in three hospitals beds in postcode lottery of care.” April 2024. https://www.libdems.org.uk/press/release/bed-blocking-taking-up-to-one-in-three-hospitals-beds-in-postcode-lottery-of-care 10 Care England: The Voice of Care. “Solving the annual £3bn recruitment and retention cost to adult social care providers.” February 2024. https://www.careengland.org.uk/solving-the-annual-3bn-recruitment-and-retention-cost-to-adult-social-care-providers/ 11 Ayad, F. “Press release: Migrant care staff having to share beds, sleep rough and charged thousands in illegal fees.” UNISON. February 10. https://www.unison.org.uk/news/press-release/2025/02/migrant-care-staff-having-to-share-beds-sleep-rough-and-charged-thousands-in-illegal-fees
Acknowledgements
This advocacy project could not have been possible without the contributions of: Liz Beh, Prema Shah, Krystle Wong, Ale Márquez Santin, Chloë Clarke, Phillip Quiza.
Special thanks to our advisors Taiwo Ademola and Professor Julia Verne.
And an exceptional thank you to all the care workers – many of whom requested not to be listed by their full name – who entrusted us with their stories.