Care firm accused of exploiting migrant workers, charging £10,000 for free visas

Lotus Care, which operates 10 care homes across north-west England, allegedly forced employees to work double shifts due to staff shortages. Workers were reportedly denied sick leave and standard pay. Those who raised complaints were threatened with deportation.

Some migrant workers said they paid up to £10,000 to agencies for visas or placements, an eight-month long BBC investigation revealed.

The investigation found that a Merseyside-based agency arranging their jobs extracted thousands of pounds from them, despite promising free work visas—charging workers for a licence is illegal. According to government regulations, the employer must cover the £284 cost for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).

Lotus Care denied all allegations, stating that its recruitment processes strictly adhere to industry standards and legal requirements. The company said it is committed to the highest ethical standards and was unaware of any visa fees paid by workers, claiming it paid the Home Office directly for all paperwork.

However, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that five of the company’s facilities were rated inadequate in recent years. Since 2022, the CQC has documented multiple failings, including one incident in Liverpool where patients reportedly went unbathed for four weeks.

The firm says it is working to resolve the issues raised, and inspectors noted improvements in two of its homes in the past 12 months.

“There’s constant pressure and a climate of fear because management use the threat of cancelling visas and deporting staff to silence complaints,” said one male migrant worker. A female worker added that she could no longer bear the mental stress.

The BBC also reviewed messages from Lotus Care’s management WhatsApp group, through which migrant staff were informed that their CoS was being revoked.

If a CoS is cancelled, an employee has 60 days to find a new sponsor before facing deportation.

Requests for sick leave during extreme heat were reportedly dismissed as “unacceptable”, and workers with fever were advised simply to take paracetamol.

Lotus Care denied these claims as well, stating that the allegations were based on selected messages circulated by disgruntled former staff.

However, several senior figures within the company have been implicated in the claims, supported by migrant testimonies, leaked messages, and phone recordings.

“Allegations of visa abuse are taken incredibly seriously and will always be investigated thoroughly,” said a Home Office official.