Recommendation 14

It is also unfair to exclude the overwhelming majority of social care workers, including those providing direct care, at a time when care homes are under immense pressure as a result of Covid-19. Care workers are as much on the frontline of fighting the virus and trying to save lives as the NHS, and they have also been more likely to see their own health suffer. A care worker who needs to renew family visas this summer could be facing costs of thousands of pounds, with more required for the Immigration Health Surcharge that has not yet been lifted. For care workers who often do not get more than statutory sick pay if they get ill or need to self-isolate this is an additional and grave financial worry, which could put them under pressure to keep working even when it is not appropriate to do so.