PAGE 56 | THE CARER | SEP/OCT 2021
PROPERTY & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
How Immigration Can Help The Care Sector
By Jemima Johnstone, head of corporate immigration at Gherson Solicitors (www.gherson.com)
For care homes facing staff shortages the UK immigration system offers some solutions, but is by no means a universal panacea. And the solutions do come at a cost – in terms of both time and money. Following the UK’s decision to leave the EU, the government introduced a single immigration system to apply to all non-UK and Irish nationals. For most individuals looking to come to the UK for work that means first obtaining a Skilled Worker visa, which requires them to be sponsored by a UK employer to take up a specific role. The employer must guarantee the type of role, the salary, and that the candidate has the skills and qualifications to fill it. The Skilled Worker scheme is not an option for every job. The government has set a minimum skill level for roles that can be sponsored –
RQF Level 3. The assessment is based on the nature of the job that will be done and is shown by the Standard Occupational Classification (or SOC code) of the role. For the care sector the key roles eligible for sponsorship are Nurses and ‘Senior Care Workers’. The role of ‘Care Worker’ is not considered to be at a sufficient skill level to be sponsored. The distinction between a Senior Care Worker and a Care Worker is not precisely defined by the SOC codes or anywhere in the government’s immigration rules or guidance, leaving employer’s to make the assessment. The government has also set minimum levels for the salary that must be paid to a sponsored worker. These depend on the SOC code of their job, but there is also a baseline annual salary figure and hourly rate for all roles. For Senior Care Workers the requirement will be to pay at least £10.10 an hour and a minimum annual salary of £20,480. Finally there are criteria that the candidates themselves must meet, including a level of English Language ability. This is met by some nationalities automatically, but applicants from non-English speaking countries – including the EU – may need to sit a secure language test to prove their ability, and this can take time to book and sit. Sponsoring an employee also comes at a cost to the employer, in terms of money but also time. The first step for any employer is to obtain a sponsor licence. This will last for four years, and allow them to sponsor potentially an unlimited number of eligible employees. A sponsor licence costs £536 for small companies and charities, or £1,476 for all other organisations. Visa costs themselves are more significant, though care sector roles will often be eligible for a reduction in fees because they fall under the ‘Health and Care’ visa heading. On average a 3 year visa for a Senior Care Worker will cost c. £1,500 for a small company and £3,500 for a
larger company. An application for a sponsor licence must demonstrate that the company applying is a legally operating UK organisation, that they have a genuine need for a sponsor licence – and will be sponsoring roles that meet the criteria of this visa route. Applicants must also fully understand their obligations and duties as a sponsor and make sure that they have systems and processes in place to deliver these. Applicants show that they meet the criteria by submitting an online form and supporting evidence, and potentially receiving a Home Office assessment visit. Having a licence also brings certain ongoing monitoring and reporting duties, with penalties if these are not met. Licence applications are standardly processed in 8 weeks, but there is a limited priority service available. Applicants who manage to obtain a priority slot, for a fee of £500, will be assessed in 2 weeks. Standardly visas take 3 weeks to process, though for Health and Care visas this time is reduced to c.1 week; applicants outside the EU will have to attend a biometric appointment, which can take from days to weeks to book. With all of the above limitations and costs this may still be the best solution for care homes looking to recruit senior care staff urgently. But to obtain a licence and sponsor individuals by 11th November time is getting extremely tight. Jemima is experienced in all areas of corporate immigration, from gaining and maintaining Sponsor Licences to recruitment advice and avoiding criminal and civil penalties. Her and her team assist with all issues pertaining to running a business in compliance with current immigration laws and hiring and maintaining migrant workers.
The Vocabulary of Leadership By Peter Bewert, Managing Director at Meaningful Care Matters (www.meaningfulcarematters.com)
Leadership! It’s a word that is commonly stated in many different situations. It comes up in personal, professional, social, family, and many other aspects of life. But what does it really mean and further still, what does it really do? Some would say that leaders are part of a bureaucratic chain that seeks to control the lives of us mere minions, conforming us to societal rules made by leaders who are above the leaders, and the bigger leaders beyond that… bureaucracy at its best! So, many self-help and leadership books assert we must ‘tap into the leader within’, well, what happens when one struggles with deciding what to have for breakfast and praying that we simply make it through the day without inadvertently telling someone to ‘go away’ (usually
said with a more uncouth colloquial vernacular in one’s head and on occasions, out loud). As human beings, we complicate many things all too frequently and most of the time unnecessarily. Leadership is simple. The test of a good leader is whether that person inspires you to make a change to better yourself as a person. Leadership, therefore, is about engagement, interaction, relationships, and connections which are meaningful and that matter. We all have the ability to tap into the leader within. Just as we all have the ability to use our leadership to inspire and empower, or to create a feeling of disenchantment around us. Over 25 years of working in health and social care, I have learnt 4 top motivators of emotionally led leadership. If we embrace these top four principles, we will undoubtedly influence positive cultures where people are real, people are genuine, and people can connect meaningfully: 1. Know Yourself: When we know ourselves and how we like to interact and engage with others, this is the first step to authentic meaningful relationship. This is the foundation of leadership. 2. Know your communication style: Knowing the way you like to give and receive information is important. This allows us to develop our communication styles where we are not so strong and in which others may have as their preference. This allows for better understanding. 3. You are not an oracle: Being open to other ideas and ways of thinking are essential. We don’t know everything and, sure, we can bring our best to the table, but when we truly listen to the collective thoughts and ideas of those who we engage with, that’s how we move from good to great. 4. You have a heart for a reason: People are driven by the heart and soul of their emotions. The difference between good leaders and great
leaders is understanding emotional intelligence and the impact of emotions on people and their actions. This means being open to feelings and emotions and learning to not only recognise them, but to also speak the language of feelings. Culture is an umbrella term outlining the societal norms and behaviours which govern our behaviours. One could argue culture designs us and, in part, this is true. However, culture is shaped by the people within. Leaders have the ability to impact culture. The question is, what influence will we exert on moulding our cultures of the future? I would like to think we are all seeking for a better world for ourselves and future generations to experience. This can only come when we embrace agile, emotionally intelligent framework, and this has to come from our leadership styles in action. Feelings, actions, interactions, and knowledge will shape our cultures of the future; we are the designers of the culture we wish to see. Good leadership begins with self. It empowers self and others to be the best version of ‘me’ and embrace the unique individualism that comes from the diversity of beliefs and cultural practices. So, what are you going to influence today? Peter Bewert is the Managing Director at Meaningful Care Matters, a leading care and organisational development group that specialises in helping health and social care providers to access a variety of support services. The group helps to facilitate the creation, reinvigoration and sustainable implementation of person-centred care cultures where people matter, feelings matter, and we are ‘Free to be Me’. Contact the team on admin@meaningfulcarematters.com.
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