Indian man awarded almost £30,000 after UK employer failed to provide work
An Indian care worker won nearly £30,000 after a UK sponsor gave him no shifts for a year, leaving him unable to work elsewhere and in hardship.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
An employment tribunal found Swan Care Solutions owed Shabin Shaji wages and holiday pay after he came to the UK on a sponsored care visa but was given no work for a year. The case highlights how tied visas can trap migrant workers when employers fail them.
A man moved to the UK because he was told he would get a care job. But when he arrived, the company gave him no work at all for a whole year.
It was like being invited to a restaurant and then being left standing at the door with no food. He could not easily get another job because his visa was tied to that one employer.
A tribunal said the company had to pay him money for the work it should have given him. The case shows how some workers can get trapped when promises are broken.
Analysis
What happened
Shabin Shaji, an Indian citizen from Kerala, came to the UK in 2023 to work as a care worker under the post-Brexit skilled worker system. He paid recruiters, moved to Stafford, bought a car, and completed online training, but Swan Care Solutions Ltd did not give him a single shift for about a year.
What the tribunal found
The employment tribunal ordered the company to pay wages and holiday pay for the work Shaji was “ready, able and willing to do”. Judge Kate Edmonds said Shaji had done what was needed to start work, but the employer did not provide any and instead treated him as if he were on a zero-hours arrangement. The judge said that was not accurate, because the worker was not actually on a zero-hours contract. The tribunal also found there had been an unauthorised deduction from wages.
The wider significance
Shaji’s visa tied him to Swan Care Solutions, so he could not simply take another job. According to the hearing, he became destitute, relied on charity, and was even advised by company staff to take cash-in-hand work and use a food bank. The Work Rights Centre, which helped him, said the case reflects a pattern in which migrant care workers pay recruitment fees, arrive expecting work, and then are left without support.
The tribunal ordered the company to pay £28,843.54 in wages and holiday pay, plus £8,700 in costs and additional sums related to contract and grievance failures. The company’s sponsorship licence was later revoked in part because it did not pay workers until training was completed. The case adds pressure on ministers to make it easier for sponsored workers to change employers when contracts are broken.
Key points
- Shabin Shaji came to the UK on a sponsored care-worker visa but received no shifts for about a year.
- An employment tribunal ordered Swan Care Solutions to pay wages, holiday pay, costs, and other sums.
- The tribunal said the company effectively treated him like a zero-hours worker, even though he was not one.
- Work Rights Centre said the case reflects a wider pattern of migrant workers being left stranded after paying recruiters.
- The case raises pressure for visa rules that make it easier to change employers when rights are breached.
