Indian nurse wins ‘life-saver' unpaid wage relief from UK tribunal

An Indian nurse taking legal action against a UK health care firm for unfair dismissal has won a “life-saver” interim relief pay-out after an employment tribunal ruled that he deserves to receive unpaid wages until a final decision is made in his case.

Kirankumar Rathod, who came to the UK in May 2023 with his wife and young child, was told at a remedy hearing on Monday that he was entitled to back payment from the date of dismissal and a monthly payment until the case concludes.

UK charity Work Rights Centre, which is representing Rathod in the case being heard at the Central London Employment Tribunal, said the grant of interim relief indicates a “pretty good chance” of his unfair dismissal claim against London-based health care provider Clinica Private Healthcare being successful.

“The judge decided that it is legal for an order for interim relief to be made for Kirankumar Rathod, amounting to back payment from the date of dismissal of GBP 16,900.97, to be paid within 28 days, with a further GBP 1,703 to be paid on the 30th of each month from now until the case concludes,” said Dr Sarmila Bose, Head of Employment at the Work Rights Centre.

“The award is a life-saver for Kirankumar and his family in alleviating the desperate financial situation Clinica put them in. That Kirankumar has succeeded in the first stage of his claims is an important development for the scores of migrant carers across the UK who have been scammed and exploited by unscrupulous employers,” she said.

Rathod, who is being represented pro bono by barrister Hana Abas, expressed “massive relief” on receiving the wages he is owed.

“This has been an incredibly stressful time for me, both emotionally and financially, as while Clinica denied me work and income I was unable to provide for my family. This payment will enable me to continue to fight against the injustice inflicted upon me by Clinica, which offered me work under false pretences when I simply wanted to work hard to care for people in the UK,” he said.

According to the case being presented before the tribunal, Rathod had paid GBP 22,000 to an immigration agent in India for a Skilled Worker Visa and certificate of sponsorship. He was given the certificate from Clinica for a full-time healthcare assistant role, working 39 hours a week for just over GBP 23,000 a year.

However, after completing an induction course and training he was not given any work. After repeated queries and finally the threat of legal action if the promised work did not materialise, it is alleged that he was dismissed without notice by the firm in November last year.

During an earlier hearing, Clinica informed the judge it had since lost its licence to sponsor migrant workers, arguing that making payments to Rathod would be illegal.

Therefore, a remedy hearing was set for this week to look into the legality of making an order of interim relief in this case.

“This case also shows how hard it is for migrant workers to find justice in the UK due to a visa system premised on sponsorship. If Kirankumar was British then the process of awarding him interim relief would have been straightforward but because his employer lost their licence to sponsor migrants, the judge needed to decide whether a payment of interim relief would even be legal,” said Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of Work Rights Centre.

“The sponsorship system puts migrant workers at a disadvantage every step of the way by transferring punitive actions against a rule-breaking employer onto them. The sponsorship system needs to be urgently and fundamentally reformed to enable migrant workers to hold exploitative employers to account for the betterment of all workers,” she said.

The case comes to light at a time when hundreds of Indian care workers find themselves unfairly stranded in the country.

Under stricter new rules, previously unmonitored care providers in England acting as sponsors for migrants are required to register with industry regulator Care Quality Commission (CQC) – a move the Home Office says is aimed at addressing worker exploitation and abuse within the sector.

Indian nationals have topped the Health and Care visa grants, with 38,866 given out last year, and many of them are now facing the brunt of these previously lax rules governing dubious recruitment agencies.