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New U.K. Immigration Plan Is ‘Life Sentence’ For Social Care Workers

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Karolina Gerlich came to the United Kingdom 12 years ago. Her native Poland had acceded to the EU three years earlier, allowing unfettered access to the British jobs market. She first worked as an au pair, before moving into manufacturing and hospitality. And then she found her calling: social care. 

Looking after people—in their own homes or at specialized care facilities—is what makes her feel the most “fulfilled and useful”. She has worked hard over the last decade, and can now proudly introduce herself as chief executive of the National Association of Care & Support Workers (NACAS). 

But today, Gerlich is worried. 

From January 2021, lower-skilled staff—which, to her dismay, likely includes care workers—will not get visas, U.K. officials announced this morning. An integral part of the government’s post-Brexit immigration system, the scheme will push employers to move away from "cheap” European labor.

Around a sixth of Britain's social care workforce are migrants, with half or more coming from an EU country. With one-in-11 posts already unfilled, any restriction in the flow of fresh foreign recruits could be catastrophic, Gerlich warns.      

“There will be increased pressure on our existing staff. There will be longer working hours, which is not helpful as people need to be rested to do the job properly.”

“It’s also going to have a huge impact on the people who are receiving services. There will be a cost to people’s quality of life and well-being, and [it will] probably even [cost] lives.”

But for the government, taking back control of Britain’s borders is paramount. A rigorous points-based scheme is needed to achieve this, ministers say, ensuring only “people with the right talent” are granted entry.

Speaking proficient English, being offered a generous salary, working in a sector short on staff; these will help an applicant attain the requisite 70-points. But it's their selection of certified skills (or lack thereof) that'll make the difference.

As entry-level social care roles tend not to require academic qualifications—nor pay above the £25,600 skilled worker threshold—a majority of foreign applicants are likely to be rejected. This more than anything reveals the government’s ignorance, says Gerlich.  

“Care workers need a lot of skills, ranging from clinical to organisational skills… and also in terms of educating themselves about the different kinds of illnesses and conditions [that afflict their clients].”

But the government is resolute. No route for lower-skilled or lower-paid staff will be introduced. Instead, businesses must "adapt and adjust", calling upon British workers—or the 3.2 million E.U. citizens still in the U.K.—to meet their personnel needs. 

Unemployment is at a generational low, however, so meeting the shortfall with domestic workers won’t be easy. And there’s another issue with social care: exhaustion. 

“We need a constant flow of incoming workers because people don’t stay [in the sector] for too long because they burn out,” says Gerlich.

Where will the necessary replacements come from, if not abroad? Workers might be moved across from medical roles—though the NHS is experiencing a staffing crisis of its own. Likewise, social care needs could be attended to in hospitals, not patients’ homes; but beds on wards are scarce as it is.   

Regardless, the politics are clear: cutting immigration was a key driver in the Brexit vote of 2016, and the government’s points-based system—spelled out in the Conservative’s election manifesto—proved a hit at the ballot box.  

But are the new measures certain to reduce net migration? No. In fact, they might do the opposite. Since the U.K.’s Leave vote, arrivals from Europe have steadily fallen while migrants from outside the EU have increased. Given the new policy relaxes restrictions on those seeking entry from outwith Europe, it’s not unimaginable that that pattern might continue.

But Britain now has control, the government would doubtlessly say, so action could be taken to lessen the inflow. A fair point. But for the likes of Gerlich, it’s about more than just figures on a graph or manifesto slogans.       

“On top of chronically under-funding the sector, the government is basically writing a life sentence for care providers,” she says.

“It’s going to be disastrous.” 

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