A British care company sacked an Indian nurse and awarded her a PS17,000 in unpaid wages.
Kirankumar Rathod was employed by Clinica Private Healthcare. He was fired after raising concerns about not being given enough work. Rathod, along with a few of his colleagues, were encouraged to move to Britain on the promise of full time employment.
Clinica hired him, but did not provide any income or work. He paid PS22,000 for a recruitment agent to recruit him in India. He received a termination letter accusing him “gross subordination” after months of inactivity.
Natasha Joffe, an employment judge, issued a rare interim decision this week ordering Clinica to continue paying salaries and pay wages that were past due until the full case of unfair dismissal could be heard.
Around 100,000 overseas workers are estimated to have come to the UK since the year 2022 when the government introduced the Health and Care Work Visa, as part of the Skilled Worker route.
Sarmila Bose, of the Work Rights Centre which represented Rathod, said that the decision was significant as it “shows that redress can be obtained for many people who were wronged because of the way visa scheme has operated”.
She said that Rathod’s family was in a difficult financial situation and the award would be a great help to them.
Judge Joffe determined that he was likely to win his unfair dismissal claim, and should receive all wages owed between the termination date and the conclusion of his case.
Rathod said to Reuters that the situation was “extremely challenging, both financially and emotionally.” Without work or pay, I struggled with supporting my family.
The Guardian revealed in its January issue that there were many allegations of migrant workers being exploited by the health care and social services sectors. Lawyers and anti-trafficking activists hope more workers who are struggling financially because of similar circumstances will come forward.
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