Bedford councillor compares working conditions of some international care staff to "modern-day slavery"

Speaking at Tuesday night’s Adult Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee (September 2), councillor Tim Caswell (Lib Dems, Goldington) said he had been given an anonymised case study involving a care worker by a trusted source.

He told the committee he had taken care to ensure the details could not identify the individual or their employer.

Councillor Caswell said: “(The care worker’s) shifts begin at 7am and finish at 10pm, six days a week… (they) are typically paid for only 7 hours and 15 minutes of each day.

“So even my maths will tell me that she is working about 90 hours and being paid for 40.”

The case also raised concerns about travel costs. The worker reportedly drove up to 1,000 miles a week, but was reimbursed at 25p a mile – significantly below HMRC’s advisory rate of 45p.

Councillor Caswell told the committee that the person believed their visa sponsorship tied them to their employer and that they needed to remain in post for another three years before being able to stay in the UK.

He also highlighted claims that international staff were on zero-hours contracts while other employees were offered fixed-hour contracts.

He said the details had been assessed by another organisation, which concluded the profile matched signs of modern-day slavery.

Responding, council officers said they were unable to discuss individual cases in public but confirmed that concerns had previously been investigated, including checking hours worked against payslips.

They stressed that international recruits are not tied to a single employer and can move to another provider with a licence to sponsor visas.

The committee also heard that Bedford Borough Council has a “very low” number of referrals as a first responder under the Modern Slavery Act, compared to 750 modern slavery cases estimated by Bedfordshire Police in 2022.

Officials emphasised that while the council has had little direct experience of cases within adult social care, it is working with the charity Unseen to review its systems and strengthen safeguards.