The Guardian view on migrant workers’ rights: a tribunal win has shone a light on a broken system | Editorial

The risk of mistreatment for overseas workers recruited for jobs in the UK on health and care visas is well established. Examples range from rip-off agents’ fees and illegally low pay to conditions akin to debt bondage, with passports and wages withheld. But Shabin Shaji’s employment tribunal win over Swan Care Solutions Ltd is thought to be the first time that an individual has succeeded in forcing a business to hand over unpaid wages. His victory should give hope to others in similar situations. It is also a chilling illustration of how migrant workers can become trapped in an unbalanced system in which they have too few rights. Mr Shaji, a computer science graduate, left his home in south India in 2023 and paid £17,000 to an agent who helped him to get a job with Swan in Stafford. Last month, a judge in Birmingham awarded him nearly £30,000 after he spent a year without work, pleading with Swan for shifts that never materialised, while living off scraps and the kindness of strangers. He eventually found other work, but has since returned to India. Swan lost its licence to sponsor migrant workers. Since 2025, eligibility for health and care visas has been restricted to doctors, nurses and other professionals. But about 160,000 visas of the type used by Mr Shaji were issued between 2021 and 2025, and the sector continues to rely heavily on these workers, at least a quarter of whom come from India. In 2024, the Guardian uncovered dozens of cases of people who had paid large sums to agents, only to end up in poverty without suitable work or access to benefits. Two years on, and despite tighter rules, new cases continue to emerge. View image in fullscreen Eleanor Lyons. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters Some of the most egregious abuses have been reduced. In the first quarter of this year, a record 3,200 employer licences were suspended or revoked. But charities including the Work Rights Centre are right to highlight the lack of fines or any other deterrent to unscrupulous hiring, and the absence of redress for people whose lives have been upended by the decision to relocate. Since visa rules allow them to work up to 20 hours a week for businesses other than their sponsor, some workers scrape a living as part of a casual, part-time workforce instead of the full-time employment they had been led to expect. The doubling to six months of the period during which a person can bring a tribunal claim will give more workers a chance to hold employers accountable. But rather than protecting migrant workers, ministers have opted for a policy driven by pressure to reduce immigration. And proposals to restrict resettlement risk making workers vulnerable in new ways. Tighter rules on spousal visas will force some to choose between their jobs and family life, as dependents are told to leave the UK. The budget of the anti-slavery commissioner, Eleanor Lyons, has also been cut, despite the rising number of potential victims referred for support. Mr Shaji has shown that employers cannot mistreat migrant workers with impunity. But it should not be down to individuals to stamp out illegal practices. Ministers must follow through on stronger safeguards, which could involve visas tied to a sector rather than a single employer. Migrant workers make an enormous contribution to the UK’s care sector. Policies affecting them must reflect this