Supplementary Work Restriction Temporarily Lifted for Health & Care Worker Visa Holders

As is well documented elsewhere, the health and social care sectors are experiencing an acute staffing crisis and job vacancies have reached an all-time high. Numerous bodies, including the Care Quality Commission, have expressed their concerns to the UK Government that the chronic shortage of labour is putting the system under immense pressure. In response, the Government has introduced several measures, including within the immigration system, in an effort to ameliorate these issues.

20-hour cap on supplementary work

Ordinarily, employees on sponsored UK work visas are only permitted to undertake a maximum of 20 hours of work in addition to their main occupation. Furthermore, any supplementary work must either be in the same occupation code (i.e., job type) as their main role, or in an area that is listed on the UK’s shortage occupation list. 

Temporary exemption for Health and Care Worker visa holders

In February of 2023, the Home Office implemented a change to the rules regarding supplementary work for Skilled Workers on a Health and Care Worker visa. This visa category covers qualified doctors, nurses, allied health care professionals and adult social care professionals. Health and Care Worker visa holders are now permitted to take on as many hours of extra work as they like without updating their visas. This is subject to the proviso that the extra work is also in a health and care occupation.

The rationale for this move is to increase flexibility within the workforce. It will enable staff to work for additional employers without as much concern about breaching the conditions of their visas.

The Government has confirmed the change will remain in place until 27 August 2023, when it will be reviewed.  

Considerations for employers

UK employers are legally required to conduct Right to Work checks on new hires. If an employer has no evidence of completing a valid Right to Work check, they could be liable to receive a civil penalty where illegal working is identified. This could be up to £20,000 per illegal worker. This could also result in the suspension and revocation of their sponsor licence.

Whilst the removal of the 20-hour cap on supplementary work for Health and Care Worker visa holders provides greater flexibility, it also increases the importance for health and care employers to have robust Right to Work systems in place in order to track employee population and ensure accurate verification.

How can Fragomen help?

Our team of immigration specialists is on hand to provide Right to Work training.

We are also very excited to announce the launch of Fragomen WorkRight UK, a certified Right to Work technology solution designed to help UK employers stay compliant and streamline their employment verification process. The tool alleviates the administrative burden placed on employers whilst ensuring a smooth onboarding process for employees. It is underpinned by our close relationship with the Home Office and our knowledge and expertise in Right to Work best practices.

Need to know more?

If your organisation is interested in recruiting Health or Care professionals, or would like to learn more about our WorkRight technology, please contact Senior Manager Laurence Keir-Thomas at [email protected] or Trainee Solicitor Amelia Haynes at [email protected].

This blog was published on 31 May 2023, and due to the circumstances, there are frequent changes. To keep up to date with all the latest updates on global immigration, please visit our dedicated COVID-19 site, subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.