Recruiting Care Home Staff From Outside The UK

Recruiting from overseas can be a complex process with a myriad of processes to follow with care home managers responsible for HR increasingly taking professional advice from solicitors, accountants and specialist recruiters. 

It is important to understand the legal requirements for hiring overseas care staff as well as any UK tax implications.  Other processes to follow include obtaining an employer sponsorship licence, conducting a resident labour market test and complying with visa requirements.

Recruiting care staff from overseas can be via social media routes, using digital marketing platforms (link to OACH Smooth Digital), on line job platforms and direct recruiter channels as examples. Link to Seed Recruitment on OACH

When considering recruiting from overseas there are other aspects to consider.  Competitive packages may include offering accommodation, support with transport, health packages and other benefits.

Additional support may be needed around local culture and the environment as well as language assistance.  Supporting a new colleague adjust to the new environment will be important for staff retention and make the new carer feel welcomed.  Buddy support with another member of the team have a proven track record of welcoming support and strengthening staff retention.

Tax aspects of an overseas carer hire

There are many issues to be aware of and a few are highlighted below:

Question: “What happens when an UK employer pays for a carer’s visa costs?”

Answer: 

• “If a non-UK domiciled individual comes to the UK to work and their employer covers their visa costs, this does not give rise to a taxable benefit in kind for that individual.”
• “The employer will also incur sponsor licence costs and these also do not give rise to a taxable benefit for the employee.”
•  “The situation is different where an employer meets the visa costs of an employee who is already in the UK, and these costs would be subject to tax & National Insurance for the employee and National Insurance for the employer.”

Question: “What happens when an employer provides a property for staff to live in?”

Answer: 

• “The provision of living accommodation is a benefit in kind.  In many cases the employer will charge the employee a market rent to avoid this.”
• “However, National Minimum Wage (NMW) considerations need to be taken into account.
• “Special rules, called the ‘Accommodation Offset’ (AO) apply when calculating a worker’s NMW.

Follow this link to an article on -Acquiring a care business: the importance of workforce due diligence