IR Displaced Worker Support BLCB

The programme funding is to support care providers in ethical and safe recruitment of international care staff, and refugees with a right to work, into ASC care positions across the East of England.

We are working with partners in Bedford, Luton and Central Bedfordshire to support displaced workers affected by provider licence revocations.

· If your current employer’s licence has not been revoked but you would like support to find a new sponsor, please use www.adultsocialcare.co.uk to find roles in your local area, support to update your CV, and advice on interviews.

· A list of licensed sponsor holder is available on gov.uk: Register of licensed sponsors: workers – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

· National Careers Service have online resources to support with writing CVs, preparing cover letters, completing applications, and preparing for interviews: Careers advice | National Careers Service.

· You can find advice on staying safe and avoiding scams when searching for a social care job in the UK on gov.uk: Advice to help you stay safe when searching for a health or social care job in the UK (publishing.service.gov.uk):

· A list of food banks is available through the Trussell Trust: Find a Food Bank – The Trussell Trust

Employment Rights and Disputes

· Acas give employees free, impartial advice on workplace rights and rules. They can also help with dispute resolution. Acas offers advice through its website: Work and employment law advice | Acas or alternatively Acas can be contacted through their helpline 0300 123 1100 for confidential free advice on any work-related problem. The helpline is open Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00. 

· Care workers can join a Trade Union who will be able to provide advice on employment rights and support with grievances or concerns with their employer. A list of Trade Unions is available on gov.uk: Part 2: living and working in the UK – what you need to know as a health and care worker – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Additional Support for Care Workers

· Free, independent, legal advice is available through Citizens Advice: Contact us – Citizens Advice or by calling their Adviceline (England) on 0800 144 8848.

· Free legal advice is also available through Law Centres: List of Law Centres | LCN

· A list of regulated immigration advisers is available on Gov.UK Adviser Finder (oisc.gov.uk) and includes details of advisers who do not charge fees.

· Care workers can also access support from trade unions and diaspora groups or associations for advice and help. A list of organisations available here: Part 2: living and working in the UK – what you need to know as a health and care worker – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

· Justice and Care, a charity working with victims of slavery and human trafficking have developed information and guidance for international workers in the care sector. The guidance sets out their employment rights, information on labour exploitation, and how to report concerns. This is attached separately.

Immigration status

· Any queries related to immigration status or visas should be referred to UKVI:

UK Visas and Immigration contact centre:
Telephone: 0300 790 6268 – select option 2
Monday to Thursday (excluding bank holidays), 9am to 4:45pm
Friday (excluding bank holidays), 9am to 4:30pm.

Voluntary Return

· A care worker may choose to leave the UK voluntarily. If they do not have the means to do this, they may be eligible for support from the Home Office to leave the UK: Get help to return home if you’re a migrant in the UK: Overview – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). They should contact the Home Office for further details and advice.

· When a care worker is considering whether to return to their country of origin, they must be signposted to get legal advice from an immigration adviser so that they are clear about the implications of this

· DO check that your agency is on the ‘ethical recruiters list’ at: Ethical Recruiters List | NHS Employers

· DO get a contract describing the salary, hours, location and any repayment clauses – make sure your employer sticks to the contract

· DO be aware of the signs of exploitation, including:

· receiving little to no payment

· being asked to repay large amounts of money

· working very long hours

· having no time off

· DO NOT apply to jobs that seem too good to be true

· DO NOT pay money to an agency to find you work in the UK – this is against UK law

· DO NOT be forced or threatened into signing a contract

· DO NOT accept threats of deportation from your employer – understand your rights

· If you think you or a colleague are being taken advantage of, or you have witnessed illegal behaviour, report your concerns to get help from The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) on 0300 123 1100 or by calling the Modern Slavery Helpline on 0800 0121 700.’

We have been members of Bedfordshire Care Group for more than 20 years and value the friendship, collaboration and sharing opportunities it brings.

Keyur Bhatt, Salvete Care Home

We are a home care provider and have found the support of Bedfordshire Care Group so important in an ever changing landscape. The sector is facing challenges, but we know we have a voice and are being heard.

Milton Nyamtowo, Lightbulb Bespoke

The trusted assessors report was greatly beneficial in promoting a safe discharge, it enabled us to put back into place a domiciliary care package with the confidence of knowing the details of the hospital stay and the treatment received. Particularly useful was the assessment of mobility and cognition.

Thank you for your assistance it was much appreciated and a service we will most definitely be using in the future for our client’s leaving hospital.

Kelly Brown, Home Instead

The TA scheme has been invaluable to us here at Elcombe House, by having support from the TA’s to do assessments for us we not only receive detailed reports of both the care needs of the individual but also a report of the of their medical needs, this also helps to free up our time as we are not required to complete assessments ourselves.

Kerri Trudgill, Manager

We find the trusted assessors invaluable in our company, whenever we have anyone admitted to hospital we let them know and they keep in contact and provide the reports when ready. This is a great help to us as we can prepare for their safe return home as we are informed in advance of any changes. I only wish we had this service in other hospitals as well as the ones in Bedfordshire.

Zoe Pierson, Director, Safe Hands Care Agency Limited

As a local domiciliary care provide we have made use of the trusted assessors on multiple occasions and have found the service to be an invaluable resource. The assessors allow us to reliably reevaluate our clients abilities, allowing us to resume safe care packages, contributing to faster and smoother discharge and reducing the need for us to send staff into the hospital to assess ourselves. The response time is excellent and all of the assessors are so helpful.

Nicola Bell, Operations Manager, The Caring Hands

We frequently use the TA service, and we feel the TA team on a whole is very effective, they complete assessments quickly and will go back to gain further information whenever we ask. They focus on ensuring we have all details available to them and are very honest when information isn’t available to them during the assessment. They all check back in to ensure everything went well with the discharge and share any concerns we might have had. The Team definitely helps in quicker effective discharges.

Ashton Lodge

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