Indian man awarded nearly £30,000 by UK court after employer failed to provide work

An employment tribunal has awarded an Indian man who moved to the UK under the skilled worker visa scheme almost £30,000 after his employer failed to offer him any work for around a year despite sponsoring him to work in care.The tribunal directed care company Swan Care Solutions Ltd to pay Shabin Shaji wages for work he was “ready, able and willing to do”, as well as holiday pay and remedies for other breaches, including failing to provide a written contract and failing to comply with grievance procedures, The Guardian reported.Originally from Kerala, Shaji moved to Stafford in 2023 after learning there was a severe shortage of healthcare workers in the UK. He bought a car for the job and completed online training before traveling. He said he had earlier sought advice about finding work in the UK from a YouTube influencer, who connected him with an agent.According to the tribunal, he paid the recruiter £17,000 and was subsequently interviewed for the role via WhatsApp before being issued a certificate of sponsorship allowing him to live and work in the UK, with Swan Care Solutions as his sponsoring employer.However, the computer science graduate, who has experience in healthcare in India, said he was not offered any shifts despite repeated requests. His visa conditions mean he cannot work more than 20 hours a week for other employers. A year after arriving, he secured sponsorship elsewhere in April 2024, but later returned to India due to poor health.The court heard staff at Swan Care Solutions advised him to take cash work and use a food bank, telling him they would contact him when “it was his turn”.The Guardian quoted employment judge Kate Edmonds as saying: “The claimant had done everything necessary to start work… However, the defendant failed to offer him work or pay him wages.”She added, “The defendant withheld his employment … and as a result, unauthorized deductions were made from his wages.”Shaji struggled without a job or income during his stay in the UK. He said: “I was penniless and had to rely on charity. I drank tap water and bought bread that was about to expire to survive.”The employment tribunal ordered the company to pay £28,843.54 in wages and holiday pay, as well as £8,700 in costs.