Care Workers Forced To Quit The Country

An estimated 50 foreign care workers in Inverness may be forced to leave the country under threat of deportation following changes to national work permit rules.

The move is set to leave the city with a shortage of such staff due to the Home Office changes which have left many non-EU workers unlikely to receive an extension on their visas.

One Inverness care home manager estimated between 50 and 60 city workers, and their families, will be told to leave as a result of the new guidance, which came into effect on 13th August.

Those affected are mostly women in lower-paid posts, as more highly skilled staff will be allowed to renew their visas.

Nora Hulleza (37), a nurse at Culloden Court nursing home in Smith-ton, who has lived with her husband on Innes Street for four years, is from the Philippines and her visa runs out on 10th November.

“I’m very upset,” she said. “I don’t know what to do, and suddenly I have to go,” she said.

“The Philippines is a very populated country. I wanted to go abroad because it was a good opportunity for us. It will be very hard to go back.”

“I think it’s unfair, it’s a human right.

“We have been here for four years and suddenly they change the rules. We pay our taxes, we’re not asking for funds from the government.

“I’m very, very worried, I don’t know what to do now. We work very hard,” she added.

Culloden Court is run by Southern Cross Healthcare, which also owns Cradlehall home in the city, and others in the Highlands.

A spokesman for the company said yesterday that four workers at its Inverness homes were affected. It deeply regretted the Home Office action and it was causing considerable problems to the recruitment of staff.

Clachnaharry Nursing Home confirmed yesterday seven of its Filipina and Indian staff were affected by the changes. Workers made to leave will be able to re-apply for a visa and applications would be considered on a case by case basis.

The new rules, which include the introduction of a points-based system meaning many care home workers will not qualify for a permit, may also hit NHS staff but the numbers are considered to be low.

“Those working here may already have permanent residency,” an NHS Highland spokeswoman said yesterday. “For those who don’t, it is likely they will leave at the end of their contract.”

Inverness MP Danny Alexander said yesterday he had written to the minister responsible to ask him to urgently revisit the “ridiculous” decision.

“The people who have contacted me have been part of the community here in Inverness for the last four years,” he said.

“It is unreasonable and unfair to uproot them with very little warning and with no change at all to their circumstances.

“They have been working here legitimately, carrying out important jobs and the Home Office should take account of the contribution they have been making and the disruption which this will cause to them, as well as the people who depend on them.

“The result of this change could be to place serious strain on the quality of care that is provided to old folk here in the Highlands. A small change to a civil servant in London can have a huge impact on individuals working legitimately in the UK and cause havoc for key employers,” he added.

A letter sent from a Home Office minister to Mr Alexander appears to show the government is encouraging the employment of eastern European workers to replace those forced to leave.

“Where posts do not meet the work permit criteria, employers should recruit from within the resident or wider EEA (European Economic Area) labour market to fill vacancies,” wrote a representative of Liam Byrne, minister of state.

“Evidence shows that large numbers of workers from the expanded European Union have already been recruited to fill social care vacancies.”

A Home Office spokesman said transitional measures had been put in place to ensure care services were not disrupted and that vulnerable people in life-threatening situations were not put at risk.

“We will not be refusing work permits for senior care workers where the post for which they are applying meets the work permit skills criteria.

“The work permit arrangements are designed to strike a balance between allowing employers to recruit people with the skills they need, while protecting employment opportunities for resident workers,” he added.