UK bares new policy for hiring caregivers

The British Embassy in Manila announced yesterday a new hiring regulation that strictly requires foreign caregivers in the United Kingdom, including Filipinos, to present an agreement with their employers extending their contract, before they could be granted extension of work permits by the British Home Office.

The embassy said the administrative order covers not only Filipinos but all foreign caregivers with work permits in the UK.

Caregivers who fail to get an extension of work permits could be deported.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it has yet to receive any information concerning the new hiring policy of the United Kingdom.

Reports earlier said that Filipino caregivers in the UK threatened to stage a rally on Nov. 3 to dramatize their protest against the new policy that could lead to the deportation of about a thousand of them.

British legislators and Unison, the biggest trade union in the UK, are said to be supportive of the protest action.

Unison believes that the new directive appears to prioritize European citizens.

A recruitment official, who asked not to be identified, said that the Home Office will not renew a Filipino caregiver’s work permit unless employers express willingness to give an hourly wage rate of £7.20 (652 Philippine pesos).

The official pointed out that so far, only one company in the United Kingdom has expressed inability to provide the new wage rate for foreign caregivers.

“The new policy actually means higher pay for Filipino caregivers working in UK,” the official pointed out.

There are about 25,000 Filipino caregivers in the UK and they comprise the majority of foreign nationals employed in care homes.   – With Mayen Jaymalin