Employers who fail to comply with visa rules could be banned for long periods from hiring foreign workers, as part of the fight against abuse and exploitation.

Ministers plan to double the length of time companies can be sanctioned, to two years, for serious employment violations, such as failure to pay the minimum wage, or for repeated disobedience of visa rules.

The measures introduced through the government’s Employment Rights Bill – which is currently going through Parliament – would also take action against employers who show signs of breaking the rules.

Enforceable action plans requiring companies that commit visa violations to obtain enhancements will be strengthened and the period for which they apply will be extended from three months to one year.

As long as these plans are in place, employers will not be able to hire workers from abroad.

She added: “Employers will no longer be able to flout the rules without any consequences or exploit international workers for costs they were always expected to pay if they choose not to recruit domestically.

“The exploitation of workers is completely unacceptable. Shamefully, these practices have been seen particularly in our care sector, where workers coming to the UK to support our health and social care services have too often found themselves plunged into unjustifiable insecurity and debt. This can and must end.

The new powers will also ensure that employers pay the costs of visa sponsorship, instead of passing them on to their workers.

The Home Office says foreign workers who have joined the UK care sector are particularly vulnerable to exploitation.

Some 450 sponsor licenses in the sector have been revoked since July 2022, and efforts are underway to help caregivers find alternative employment when their sponsor has lost their license.

Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said: “Migrant workers are a valuable part of our social care workforce, supporting vulnerable people across the country every day. Many traveled to the UK with the promise of a rewarding and fulfilling career.

“However, there has been an unacceptable increase in the exploitation and abuse of overseas social workers by rogue operators.

“Cracking down on these unethical employers will protect migrant workers from unacceptable and shameful exploitation. »

Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of the Work Rights Centre, welcomed the government’s plans but said what was being done was the “bare minimum”.

Dr Vicol added: “’Waiting until employers have committed serious violations of the law before taking action’ was indeed the tactic of the last government, but if this government is serious about tackling the exploitation of migrant workers, it will need to go beyond simply sticking band-aids on a flawed labor migration system that allows exploitation by design.

“Urgent and thorough reform of the sponsorship system is the only way to properly protect migrant workers from exploitation.

“Days before their election, Labor pledged to investigate the appalling treatment of migrant care workers. They must keep this promise, which will inevitably point the finger at sponsorship.”