Category: News
Guidance And Support For Prospective Overseas Candidates
NHS Employers is distributing an update from the Department for Health and Social Care. It states that the guidance for international applicants seeking health and social care jobs in the UK has been revised and reissued. This guidance and support for prospective overseas candidates offers assistance by providing advice on avoiding scams, recognising exploitation, and offering practical information necessary for seeking employment in the UK. It has been divided into two parts for easier access. All international candidates thinking about applying for a health or social care job in the UK should read this guidance and support first.
At Servisource, our recruitment team are aware that healthcare staff can be anxious when moving across the world to another country. However, our team ensure they feel like extended family members by putting them at ease, providing a meet and greet at the airport, supplying a sim card to call loved ones back home when they arrive, escorting them to their accommodation and in some instances taking them on their first shopping trip. This ensures they settle into their new home and surroundings well.
A Message from our Healthcare Perm Associate Director Aileen McCann:
From a leadership perspective, I always try to lead by example. If I can demonstrate how to do a task, what respect and good communication looks like when taking on a new client or making placements, this shows my team who and what they need to strive for.
Part 1: Applying for health and social care jobs in the UK from abroad
Healthcare in the UK is mainly provided by the National Health Service (NHS), a group of public bodies that provide or arrange medical care for all permanent residents in the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland). There are many varied jobs in the health and social care sector. Some jobs need specific training and skills, and to practice, professionals must join professional registers. Part 1 provides support for prospective overseas candidates applying for jobs including information on:
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1. Finding a good recruitment agency
There are 2 main ways you can be recruited to the UK. You can apply for jobs directly via a jobs board such as NHS jobs or Find a job in social care. Or apply for jobs via a recruitment agency or recruitment organisation. If going through a recruitment agency, check if the agency has a strong track record and positive reviews from both candidates and employers.
Servisource has become one of Ireland’s leading national and international suppliers of high quality and innovative recruitment and healthcare staffing solutions, enabling continuity of care during peaks in demand, by providing cost-effective solutions which help our longstanding clients manage budgets, reduce workloads, maintain staffing levels and deliver premium patient care. Our team conduct all necessary compliance, educational and police checks, and offer visa assistance and onboarding help when needed.
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2. How to check if a job is untrustworthy
If you’re applying for a job with an independent provider (not publicly funded like the NHS), check that the company is real by looking it up on the Companies House website.
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3. Understanding finances
Be clear what costs you’ll need to pay during the recruitment process and whether your employer will pay any of these for you. For most visas, including Health and Care Worker visas, you are not entitled to financial help from the UK government (this is also called ‘no access to public funds’). It is advised to check the following:
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4. Employment offers and contracts
Make sure you get a job offer letter from your employer which details the salary, hours, location and any repayment clauses before accepting a job and travelling to the UK. Do not allow anyone to pressure you into signing a contract until you’re comfortable with what is included. Do not sign a different contract on arrival in the UK. Some employers have used this as a way of reducing your rights. All employers should provide:
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5. Visas, family dependants, professional regulation and employer support
Information is available though the Health and Care Worker visa requirements guidance if applying for that visa. For care workers or senior care workers, dependants can’t join them in the UK unless they are on a Health and Care Worker visa applied for before 11 March 2024.
Part 2: living and working in the UK , what you need to know as a health and care worker
This part is a guide that provides advice on how to recognise the signs of exploitation, how to avoid it and what to do about it. The code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel sets out the UK government’s written guidelines for ensuring that international recruitment of health and social care staff is done ethically. Part 2 provides support on the following topics:
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1. Be aware of exploitation
Be aware of the signs of exploitation. These include being forced to work under poor conditions, without reasonable time off and for little or no payment. Money and fees issues are discussed as well as working hours and quality of care being provided.
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2. Arranging accommodation
Make sure you have a clear plan for where you will live, who is arranging it and for how long. For advice on looking for a home through a private landlord or letting agent, see Shelter.
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3. Worker legal rights, working hours and taking on additional work
Your rights as a worker are protected by UK law. Read the GLAA workers’ rights leaflet. By law, you must not work more than 48 hours a week on average, unless you ‘opt out’. Even if you opt out, you must take rest breaks from work.
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4. Employment changes and your visa
Your visa may be affected if you change jobs, lose your job, or your employer loses their sponsorship licence. Please note that your employer cannot deport you, the Home Office will decide whether to cancel your visa or not.
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5. Equality and inclusion in the workplace
You’re legally protected from discrimination by the Equality Act 2010. If you think you’ve been unfairly discriminated against, you can contact the Equality Advisory Support Service for help and advice, or contact your trade union.
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6. Organisations to support you during your employment
If you join after a problem has occurred it is harder for these organisations to represent you, so consider joining when you first start your job. You’ll need to pay a membership fee, but some trade unions offer a discounted membership fee for international members.
Servisource want to make sure the process of recruitment is understood, and that healthcare workers are well informed about working rights and standards and have the information needed to make decisions. For detailed information on the above, please refer to the gov.uk website.
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New Immigration Rules Introduced by the UK Government
On 4 December 2023, new immigration rules were introduced by the UK government. These changes to the immigration system will take effect from Spring 2024.
The upcoming changes to the Health and Care Visa route will specifically impact the care sector in the UK. Under these changes, care workers and senior care workers will no longer be allowed to bring their dependents when moving to the UK, and only CQC-registered providers in England can sponsor Health and Care Visa applicants. It’s important to note that these changes do not apply to the NHS. There are no changes to the policy on dependants for NHS staff. They will be able to bring partners and childrens as dependants if eligible. A dependant partner or child is any of the following:
Evidence of the relationship to the dependant needs to be provided when applying for the visa. Workers and dependants account for some of the highest proportion of visas being issued.
The Health and Care Visa route will not be affected by changes to salary thresholds and will still exempt holders from the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). The government plans to review the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) and Graduate Visa route. While the government aims to reduce net migration, it acknowledges the importance of internationally educated health and care workers.
The measures announced are possible because the government is prioritising growing the domestic workforce through the Back to Work Plan – a package of employment-focused support that will help people stay healthy, get off benefits and move into work.
International Recruitment at Servisource
Our team recruits Nurses across all disciplines and Allied Healthcare Professionals from across the world. We manage all aspects of the recruitment process including interview scheduling, compliance checks, and even welcome international candidates by meeting them at the airport.
We operate regionally, nationally and globally, providing access to the right people with the right skills and knowledge in the right place.
As the government makes changes to immigration policies, the Health and Care Visa remains a distinct and important route for healthcare professionals. While some aspects are evolving, such as the review of occupation lists and graduate visas, it’s reassuring that key benefits like exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge persist.
These changes may raise many questions, especially for internationally educated staff and those involved in recruitment. By regularly checking Servisource’s latest blogs, professionals can receive the most up-to-date information and guidance in this evolving landscape.
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The Nursing and Midwifery Council and Supporting Information
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), an independent regulator, focuses on nurses, midwives, and nursing associates in the UK and England. Their purpose is to make sure that the practices of nursing and midwifery are secure, effective, and compassionate. They oversee and monitor these professions and the public, to ensure their well-being.
As Servisource stated in our previous blog, The NMC Announce Employers Can Provide Supporting Information For English Language Proficiency, this process is discussed in more detail in the following blog, allowing more high-quality professionals to join the register, helping to provide better care to the public.
SIFE is additional supporting information from an employer that certain applicants to the NMC register can provide as part of their evidence that they meet the NMC’s English language requirements.
As of 27 May 2023, all prospective applicants who haven’t yet submitted their NMC Online applications can now use SIFE via the NMC Online application process.
In September 2022, their Council agreed that SIFE could be used as additional supporting evidence of English language competence, for those people who have been working for 12 months (or FTE equivalent if working part-time) in non-registered practice in a health and social care setting in the UK.
Applicants trained in English in a country where English is not the majority spoken language can use SIFE to evidence listening and speaking competence, demonstrating their ability to interact clinically in English with people who use services, their families, carers, and other healthcare professionals.
Which applicants can provide this supporting information?
Those people who have working for 12 months (or FTE equivalent if working part-time) in non-registered practice in a health and social care setting in the UK and who either:
Applicants must have:
Their line manager will be asked to provide information via a link to NMC online to confirm direct experience of their English language competence. Their line manager should be an NHS Band 6 (or non-NHS equivalent) or above. This information also needs be countersigned by an NMC registrant who is an NHS Band 8a (or non-NHS equivalent) or above, to confirm the process has been fair and consistent.
How to access the SIFE form?
The process is fully automated, applicants will access SIFE as part of the application process on NMC online. They will automatically send the applicant’s line managers and counter-signatories a link to provide SIFE via their NMC Online accounts, based on information the applicant provides. Servisource advises you to stay updated by visiting the NMC’s website in relation to these amendments.
At Servisource, we place International Healthcare Professionals in permanent positions across the UK in the private sector and NHS, while offering career progression within a supportive work environment.
Our team conducted all necessary compliance, educational and police checks, and offer visa assistance and onboarding help when needed. This means each successful candidate is ready to begin work without administrative issues, and can focus on what matters most, their patients.
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