Speaking on the second day of the 158ᵗʰ Trades Union Congress in Brighton, UNISON senior vice-president Debbie Rowden warned that the Home Office’s proposal to treble the waiting time for settlement will ‘drive away’ internationally recruited nurses, care workers and other frontline staff. Under current rules most migrant workers become eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain after five continuous years; draft proposals would extend that to 15 years for roles below degree-level or those deemed ‘low contribution’. Rowden told delegates on 15 September that such a move would ‘leave people trapped with a single employer for a decade and a half’, increasing the risk of exploitation in sectors already struggling with chronic vacancies. The conference adopted a composite motion mandating a national campaign to scrap the plan and calling for portability of sponsorship so that care workers can change jobs without restarting the settlement clock. The intervention adds political heat ahead of this afternoon’s Home Affairs Committee hearing with the Home Secretary and signals potential coordinated industrial action if the proposals proceed. For NHS trusts and private-sector care providers reliant on overseas recruitment, the threat of higher attrition as workers look to alternative countries with faster residency pathways is real. Employers should prepare impact assessments and consider joining sector coalitions pressing for exemptions or phased introduction. The episode also illustrates reputational risk: prolonged settlement timelines could undermine DE&I commitments and complicate ESG reporting for publicly listed companies. Boards should ensure HR and government-relations teams feed workforce data into the Home Office consultation and engage local MPs before legislation is tabled.
Source: UNISON News
