UK: Migrant nurses at Cambian children's services allege abuse, incl. extortionate recruitment fees; incl. cos. comments
Summary
Date Reported: 11 Jun 2023
Location: United Kingdom
Companies
Cambian Group Ltd - Employer , Caretech Holdings PLC - Other Value Chain Entity , Harley Medical Services - Recruiter , Care2Nurse - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - India , Health and social care , Gender not reported )Issues
Mental Health , Wage Theft , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Recruitment Fees , Restricted mobilityResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Four whistleblowers at Cambian described the situation to the Observer. A source said workers were too afraid to speak out in case they were deported. A Cambian executive has reportedly acknowledge the recruitment fee charges, but in a statement to the Observer the company distanced themselves from the comments and denied any knowledge of the payments. Harley Medical Services, the recruitment agency Cambian contracted to source workers disputed Cambian's position, saying all information it gave to candidates was provided by the employer. Care2Nurse did not respond to requests for comment, comments from Harley Medical Services are reported by the Guardian.
Source type: News outlet
“Sold a dream’: migrant workers at children’s care chain left without pay for months”
Nurses hired from abroad to work for one of Britain’s biggest social care chains have been left in debt and are in some cases suicidal after being stranded without pay for months.
They have also been paid lower wages than they were told they would receive and were in some cases given false promises about their accommodation and employment terms…
The affected workers were hired through agencies … to fill 400 vacancies at Cambian children’s services – part of the CareTech group…
They are understood to have spent as much as £18,000 each … to take up jobs…
Cambian children’s services is part of the CareTech group, which has contracts with more than 300 UK councils …. The company, owned by Haroon and Farouq Sheikh, took over Cambian in 2018…
In a statement to the Observer, Cambian distanced itself from the comments…
The UK-based recruitment agency Cambian contracted to source workers, Harley Medical Services Ltd, appeared to dispute Cambian’s position…
…Harley Medical … in turn engaged another agency, Care2Nurse, to help it source many of the candidates…
Care2Nurse did not respond to repeated requests for comment…