Care workers, chefs and other skilled workers in the UK who escape exploitative employers will be allowed to change sponsors and continue working for the remainder of their existing visa, under a new Home Office measure announced on September 3.
Where evidence of criminality emerges, employers can be referred to police. The policy comes as the UK’s skilled- worker migration numbers have fallen sharply. The Guardian reported that more than 6,600 sponsors have lost their licenses since the Labor government came to power, including more than 4,400 in the year to June 2026. That represented a 140% increase from the previous year. About 111,000 skilled worker visas were granted last year, 76% below the peak recorded in the year ending December 2023. The decline followed the UK’s decision to stop new overseas applications for care-worker visas after July 2025.
Because of their immigration status, migration and Citizenship Minister Jo White said victims should not be forced to remain with an abusive employer.
The government said the protection will cover care workers, chefs, hospitality staff and others who entered the UK legally but subsequently faced exploitation. The government also said it is pursuing wider changes through its immigration white paper to make it easier for sponsored workers to change employers. The government says the latest change is intended to give vulnerable migrant workers a safer route out of abusive workplaces while allowing authorities to pursue sponsors accused of exploitation.
