By Hamraj Gulamali, Head of Legal & Compliance at Zinc
The UK care sector is facing a deepening crisis.
Persistent staff shortages have placed immense strain on care providers, many of whom depend on international recruits to deliver safe and consistent care.
At the same time, regulatory requirements, ranging from DBS and immigration checks to CQC inspections and right-to-work verification, have become increasingly complex and time-consuming.
For many care homes, limited staffing options combined with slow, manual compliance processes are proving unsustainable.
Outdated systems continue to delay recruitment and increase operational risk, costing providers millions.
In 2023 alone, the CQC issued more than £5 million in fines, while individual right-to-work violations can result in penalties of up to £60,000.
Against this challenging backdrop, Labour’s proposed changes to care worker visas, detailed in Keir Starmer’s recent whitepaper, have sparked concern across the sector.
The plans to reduce visa availability and impose stricter settlement requirements risk further limiting access to a vital international workforce, just as demand for care services continues to rise.
Without careful consideration, these reforms could exacerbate existing pressures and push an already overstretched system closer to collapse.
Visa restrictions at odds with workforce demand
Starmer’s proposed visa reforms come at a time when the care workforce is already stretched to breaking point.
While the aim is to reduce long-term reliance on overseas labour, care homes continue to face unfilled vacancies, low local interest in care roles, and limited options to rapidly expand domestic recruitment.
For many providers, international hiring is not a preference but a necessity driven by years of structural workforce shortages.
These changes also risk disrupting established recruitment pipelines, particularly those built around sponsorship and settlement routes in which providers have invested heavily.
With little clarity on transitional arrangements or support for affected employers, care homes could find themselves in limbo, unable to plan effectively or maintain necessary staffing levels.
This uncertainty only adds to the pressures created by complex compliance requirements and rising operational costs.
Hamraj Gulamali
Rather than tackling the root causes of workforce fragility, visa restrictions may accelerate staff turnover and increase dependence on expensive agency workers, further destabilising a system that urgently needs sustained investment and strategic workforce planning, not tighter constraints.
Struggling to keep pace with regulatory change
As demonstrated by the introduction of Starmer’s proposed reforms, ever-changing regulations are creating significant legal and financial risks for care providers.
Rapid shifts in immigration, employment eligibility, and safeguarding rules are placing increasing pressure on legal and HR teams to maintain compliance.
The speed and complexity of these changes can be challenging to manage without adequate tools and support.
When updates are fragmented or rolled out with little notice, even experienced teams may struggle to respond effectively.
Without streamlined processes, crucial steps in vetting or documentation risk being overlooked, potentially exposing organisations to liability and reputational damage.
Such oversights carry serious consequences.
For example, incomplete or incorrect right-to-work checks can invalidate an organisation’s statutory excuse, leaving it vulnerable to fines of up to £60,000 per worker.
Mistakes in verifying immigration status or DBS disclosures can also lead to penalties, legal challenges, or reputational harm.
In a sector already facing financial pressures and heightened regulatory scrutiny, even minor compliance failures can have disproportionate impacts.
At the core of the problem is a lack of accessible, efficient systems to support both frontline staff and compliance teams.
Many providers still rely on outdated or manual processes prone to human error.
Without improved technology and clearer guidance, care organisations will continue to face unnecessary risks, not due to negligence, but because they must navigate a system that is no longer fit for purpose.
Loss of staff leads to breakdowns in compliance
High staff turnover is a significant contributor to compliance risks throughout the care sector.
When experienced team members leave, they often take with them essential institutional knowledge, particularly around vetting procedures, right-to-work documentation, and regulatory checks.
Frequently, there are no formal handovers or systems in place to guarantee continuity, leaving newer or temporary staff to navigate complex processes without sufficient training or support.
This loss of knowledge can quickly create compliance gaps.
Critical onboarding steps—such as verifying visa conditions, maintaining audit trails, and conducting thorough DBS and sanctions checks may be overlooked or applied inconsistently.
Even minor oversights can invalidate checks, exposing providers to serious legal and financial penalties.
For organisations already operating under pressure, these errors go beyond mere administration; they represent a breakdown in the safeguards meant to protect vulnerable individuals and uphold legal standards.
Without a stronger approach to knowledge transfer and process standardisation, the sector risks falling into a harmful cycle: high turnover fuels compliance vulnerabilities, which lead to regulatory penalties, legal risks, and staff burnout, only to accelerate further churn.
Breaking this cycle requires more than policy adjustments; it demands a coordinated effort to modernise systems, empower frontline teams, and ensure regulatory frameworks are practical and effective in real-world settings, not just on paper.
