More than 30 cases of migrant nurses being exploited in Northern Ireland’s social care sector have been reported, a new report reveals.
The UK-wide report from the Royal College of Nursing hit out at the “grotesque” treatment by some employers accused of taking advantage of staff’s “vulnerable visa status”.
Over 400 cases were analysed of staff in adult social care who sought RCN support as victims of exploitation and extortion between 2023 and 2025.
A total of 33 cases in Northern Ireland were recorded during this period.
The RCN say the true figure is likely to be higher due to the low union membership among migrant workers and “widespread fear of speaking up”.
Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN Chief Executive and General Secretary, said: “One of the major causes is a visa sponsorship system which creates a dangerous power imbalance, allowing some unscrupulous employers to use withdrawal of sponsorship as leverage to extort money, alter contracts, reduce pay or bully and harass with impunity.
“It’s a shocking scenario which hands individual employers all the power. It has no place in a National Care Service,” she said, referring to a proposed new service from UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Other key findings in the report found that over half of those seeking support from the RCN involved employers using repayment clauses to recover costs from staff wishing to leave before the end of their contract.
Most cases were above the maximum £3,000 recommended by NHS employers, with one example as high as £25,000.
One in five cases raised issues of pay, with the most common complaint that staff were being paid less than their agreed contractual wage.
Over half reported substandard workplace practices, with a third involving severe bullying and harassment and some cases of racist discrimination.
The RCN is calling for visas to be administered by an umbrella organisation so staff can move easily between jobs without threat of deportation.
Other suggestions include a Fair Work Agency that will target unethical employers and extending the time staff have to find a new employer from 60 to 180 days.
Rita Devlin, Director of the Royal College of Nursing in Northern Ireland.
The RCN’s Northern Ireland Executive Director, Professor Rita Devlin, praised the “vital contribution” from internationally educated nursing staff in hospitals, care homes and communities.
“It is essential that the UK in general and Northern Ireland in particular are seen as an attractive destination for international nursing professionals by addressing the issues set out in this report,” she told The Irish News.
“Enhancing the well-being of international workers in social care is not a short-term fix and will require a co-ordinated set of policy changes
“As our report makes clear, this must be underpinned by long-term investment and reform in a sustainable adult social care system that can meet the needs of an ageing population and, in turn, helps reduce pressures on the wider health and social care system.
“If we don’t do this, the consequences for our health and social care system could be severe.”