Carestaff ‘kept like slaves by nurse agency’

A NURSING couple who run a recruitment agency supplying care homes have been arrested on suspicion of modern slavery offences – after claims their workers were so hungry they ate residents’ leftovers.

In what investigators said was a sign that ‘unscrupulous’ opportunists were exploiting the care worker shortage, the pair allegedly took advantage of nine Indians living in Britain on student visas.

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) was tipped off that they were turning up at work tired and unwashed. Officers arrested the couple – a 31-year-old British-Indian man and a 29-year-old Indian woman – at their plush detached house in Abergele, North Wales.

At the same time they searched two properties in nearby Colwyn Bay and found the workers sleeping on mattresses on the floor in cramped, cold and unsanitary conditions, they said yesterday.

The workers were said to be always hungry and were even spotted eating leftovers from meals given to residents of six care homes where they worked. The tip-off came in a call to the Modern Slavery Helpline.

According to the GLAA, they are believed to have been ‘recruited’ from areas of India to which the suspects had close links.

While it is not known whether they were also studying legitimately in the UK, they are thought to have been working longer than the permitted 20 hours a week, with their wages said to have been controlled by their alleged exploiters.

Investigators believe the workers were transported to and from work each day, with the suspects dropping them off and collecting them close to the care homes.

Senior investigating officer Martin Plimmer said: ‘There is a well-publicised shortage of workers within the care industry which has been amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic. This presents real risks as opportunists and unscrupulous employers may look to fill this void by exploiting vulnerable workers.’

Following last Thursday’s raid, the suspects – both registered nurses who run a recruitment agency – were interviewed on suspicion of offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 before being released under investigation.

Care bosses have warned of a staffing crisis, with more than 100,000 UK vacancies.

‘Hungry workers ate residents’ leftovers’