Losing your job if you have a Health and Care Worker visa

If you’ve lost your job, your employer will tell the Home Office. 

If the Home Office decide to cancel your visa, they’ll send you a letter saying your Health and Care Worker visa has been cancelled. 

You should still get paid for the time you’ve worked - you can check how to get paid when you leave a job.

If your visa is cancelled

You’ll have 60 days left in the UK before you have to leave the country or get another visa. If you have less than 60 days left on your visa, you’ll have until your visa expires.

If you want to stay in the UK, you’ll need to find another health or care job with an employer who can sponsor you. 

If you got your Health and Care Worker visa before 11 March 2024, you had the right to bring your partner or child to the UK with you. They’ll be allowed to stay in the UK as long as you get a new sponsor before your visa ends.

When you’ve got a new sponsor, you’ll need to apply to update your Health and Care Worker visa. You can stay in the UK while you wait for a decision about your application. If your partner or children have visas that depend on your visa, you’ll need to update their visas as well.

You can check how to update your Health and Care Worker visa on GOV.UK.

If your employer lost their sponsorship licence

You’ll have to leave your job and your visa will be cancelled. 

You might also be affected if: 

• your employer’s licence is suspended

• your employer’s business is taken over

• your employer doesn’t renew their licence

You can check what happens when your employer loses their sponsorship licence on GOV.UK.

If your employer charged you fees or deducted money from your wages

You might have been charged fees or had money deducted by your employer. If you’re not sure what the fees or deduction is for, you can check your payslip or ask your employer. 

Your employer can only deduct money for something you’ve agreed to pay - you need to have agreed to it before they make the deduction. You can check what you’ve agreed to pay for by checking your employment contract or a written agreement. 

Your employer has to pay you the National Minimum Wage - this means they usually can’t deduct money if it would mean they’ve paid you less. 

If the deduction was for training, your employer might be able to make a deduction that means paying you less if:

• you’ve chosen to leave your job 

• you’ve been dismissed because of your behaviour

If you think your employer has paid you less than they should have, you can get help with getting paid when you leave a job.

If your employer has asked you to pay sponsor fees

You shouldn’t have to pay any of the following sponsor fees:

• the Sponsor Licence fee

• the Certificate of Sponsorship fee

• the Immigration Skills Charge

If your employer is telling you to pay sponsor fees, you can talk to an adviser.

Finding a new employer to sponsor you

You’ll need to find a new employer to sponsor you if you want to stay in the UK.

Your new employer must be a licensed sponsor holder so they can give you a new Certificate of Sponsorship. You can find the list of licensed sponsor holders on the Autonomy website.

If an employer isn’t on the list, it’s best to find a different employer. 

If you’re using a recruitment agency

You can check if the agency is on the list of ethical recruiters on GOV.UK. If they’re on the list it means they’ve said they’ll follow the government’s rules about recruitment.

Updating your Health and Care Worker visa

When you’ve found a new employer, you’ll need to apply to update your visa.

If your partner or children have visas that depend on your visa, you’ll need to update their visas as well.

Check how to update your visa on GOV.UK.

If you have accommodation as part of your job

You should check your employment contract to find out what happens with your accommodation.

Your landlord or employer will usually send you an eviction notice. You’ll need to check how much notice they need to give before you have to move out. 

If you haven’t got an eviction notice, you can check how much notice you need to give your landlord or employer.

If you can’t find the information in your employment contract, you might have a separate written agreement. 

If you don’t move out by the agreed date, your landlord will usually need a court order to evict you. They might be able to evict you without a court order if:

• your accommodation is free

• you live with your employer

• you live with a client you were caring for

Talk to an adviser if you’re worried about losing your accommodation.

Check if your dismissal was unfair

Your dismissal might be unfair if your employer either:

• ended your job without a good legal reason

• didn’t follow a fair procedure

You can usually only challenge a dismissal if you’ve worked for your employer for at least 2 years.

If you’ve worked for your employer for less than 2 years, you might still be able to challenge a dismissal if it’s ‘automatically unfair’. Your dismissal will be automatically unfair if, for example, you were dismissed because:

• you were pregnant or on maternity leave

• you tried to get your rights at work - for example if you asked to be paid the National Minimum Wage

You can check if your dismissal is unfair.

If you’re struggling with living costs

You have ‘no recourse to public funds’ - this means you usually can’t claim benefits. If you’ve worked in the UK for at least 2 years, you might be able to claim some benefits.

If you’ve worked in the UK for at least 2 years

If you’ve paid enough National Insurance contributions, you might be able to claim either:

• new style Jobseeker’s Allowance - check if you can claim new style Jobseeker’s Allowance

• new style Employment and Support Allowance, if you’re sick or disabled - check if you can claim new style Employment and Support Allowance

If you’re struggling to afford food

You can get free food from a food bank - find out how to use a food bank.

You might also be able to get help from local organisations - for example, you could ask your local church or mosque for help.

If you have children under 18

If you have children under 18, you might be able to get help from your local council. You should get help from an adviser first.

Get help from an adviser

Talk to an adviser to get help.