The cost of hiring overseas workers is set to increase – there’s still time to avoid it

The focus for many providers over recent months has been fighting the rise in ENICs while negotiating meaningful fee uplifts that reflect the cost of delivering quality care.  It’s no surprise that two potential increases in the cost of employing overseas workers might have got less attention. 

UKVI Going Rates

 Going rates for most Skilled Worker Visa occupations rose steeply over the last year while health and care roles have been shielded, hewing to market rates.  This is likely to continue but rates for both nurses and care workers will increase.

Going rates for nurses

Going rates for nurses and AHPs are based on NHS pay scales.  In the past, going rates have increased in line with the NHS scale and there’s no reason to believe that won’t be the case this time around.  The uplift for NHS has yet to be announced but the expectation is that it will be around 3.5%, taking the minimum salary for an overseas nurse to just over £31,000 or £15.90/hr.  Comfortably less than the rate paid by most private health and care providers. 

Going rates for carers & senior sarers

For carers and senior carers (SOC codes 6135 & 6136) the story might be slightly different.  For the last 3 years, government have maintained the going rate for these roles at 50-80p per hour above NMW. 

The justification for this has never really been clear.  It isn’t high enough to deter overseas recruitment (which might be politically desirable) and it is a blunt tool for shielding overseas workers against exploitation.  At the same time, it is a higher rate than many providers can pay, putting overseas recruitment out of reach or necessitating a pay differential that can be difficult to sustain. 

Having consistently uplifted the going rate for health and care workers above NMW, a further rise on the 1st April seems likely.  However, given other measures have dramatically reduced health and care visa numbers, we believe the uplift could be smaller than in recent years, taking the rate for a care or senior carer to around £12.60/hour. 

Certificate of Sponsorship Fees

Government laid secondary legislation before parliament in January to allow for an increase the Certificate of Sponsorship fee from £239 to £525.  Easy to swallow for a couple of people, more challenging for a couple of hundred. 

Whereas government has created carve outs for health and care in the past, for example the exemption from the Healthcare Surcharge, it seems there is no plan to do that here. 

When will the changes be implemented?

We anticipate an uplift in the COS fee and going rate for carers from 1st April.  Don’t expect any forward guidance.  There is unlikely to be notice of the change coming and no notification once it’s arrived so be sure to check gov.uk regularly. 

The pay settlement for the NHS has yet to be announced and in the last few years has often not been announced until the summer, so expect the current going rates for nurses to remain unchanged for the time being. 

What to do now?

Act now.  If you have COSs to issue, issue them.  Issuing 10 COS before the increase will save nearly £3000 in fees alone.  What’s more, once a COS is issued, the going rate are locked in even if an overseas worker doesn’t arrive in the UK or start their new job until the new rates are in place.  The potential savings quickly add up. And, it isn’t too late to source and secure candidates before the end of the month.

Do these increases damage the business case for overseas recruitment?

These uplifts will make overseas recruitment more expensive but this must be pitted against similar uplifts in bank and agency spend and the cost of employing workers already in the UK, and of course the savings brought about by the retention international recruitment brings.  We believe the case will continue to be strong especially when comparing permanent, overseas recruitment with bank and agency, where the differential will remain significant and unchanged.

Need help?

We have been helping clients navigate international recruitment for 25 years, if you need help or advice or want to find out how our comprehensive service can help you build or transform, contact us.

BAHealthcare is the care sector’s first-choice partner for overseas personnel.  A British business, led by an Anglo-Filipino team, headquartered in Malaysia with bases in the UAE and Hong Kong, since founding in 2000, we have worked with some of the country’s largest providers and some of the smallest, including specialist services for children and young people.  We have deployed 10,000+ nurses, carers and other professionals – primarily from Filipino ex-pat communities across Asia – to the UK and beyond.  We partner to provide committed, experienced, well-qualified nurses and carers that create thriving, sustainable workforces, and help organisations to strengthen and grow.