Tribunal rulings expose a shameful trail of deception, debt, and destitution faced by legal migrant carers from Zimbabwe as Britain’s care visa system descends into a scandal of modern-day servitude.
LONDON – 2025. They answered Britain’s call. They paid thousands. They arrived legally. They came to care. But instead of welcome, they were met with silence, manipulation, and exploitation.
In a growing series of legal victories, Zimbabwean migrant carers have begun to win employment tribunal cases against rogue UK care companies. These are not isolated cases they are connected threads in a widening scandal, one that rights groups say amounts to state-enabled abuse of migrant workers.
The names are different Moreblessing Chikoto, Linnet Magomana, Mildred Dhirawu, C. Coregore and her colleagues but the pattern is painfully familiar:
- Illegal recruitment fees of up to £4,500,
- Squalid housing with no electricity or basic dignity,
- No work provided, or just one shift in months,
- Threats of deportation when questions are asked,
- Wages withheld, holidays unpaid, contracts forged or manipulated.
Three tribunals. Three different care companies. One damning truth: Zimbabwean carers in Britain are being treated as disposable tools in a broken system.
Case One: “We Slept in Darkness” — Chikoto v Gain Healthcare
Ms Moreblessing Chikoto was recruited via Facebook adverts by Gain Healthcare, directed by influencer Olinda Chapel. She paid £2,619, arrived in the UK with a signed contract, and was placed in a home so poorly maintained she had to share a bed with a stranger and lived without electricity.
When paramedics raised safeguarding concerns, she was threatened with deportation. When her sister posted photos of her living conditions in a Zimbabwean support group, she was fired on the spot.
The tribunal awarded her £479.45 for wrongful dismissal. But no compensation was granted for the illegal fees, the housing horrors, or the trauma.
Case Two: “We Paid, But Got No Work” — Coregore & Others v Harmony Projects
Five Zimbabwean care workers, including Ms C. Coregore, brought claims against Harmony Projects, after paying up to £4,500 each for sponsorships. But the promised jobs never came. One claimant got a single shift in six months. The rest were left in limbo unable to work, unable to return home, drowning in debt.
The tribunal ruled that Harmony Projects owed all five workers back pay for the months they were left waiting. Again, no compensation was ordered for the recruitment fees. No criminal investigation. No fines. No accountability.
“We were not employees to them,” said Coregore. “We were commodities.”
Case Three: “We Were Pressured to Sign” — Magomana & Dhirawu v E2E Homecare Ltd
Two carers, Linnet Magomana and Mildred Dhirawu, legally sponsored under the Health and Care Worker visa, worked hard — yet were denied holiday pay and pressured into signing revised contracts without proper explanation.
When they resisted, they were accused of lying and forging their own signatures. The tribunal didn’t believe the company and ruled in the carers’ favour awarding just £590 each.
Voices of Injustice
“We came to care for others, and instead, we were broken,” said Ms Magomana.
“We were housed in filth,” said Ms Chikoto. “I slept in the dark, begged for heat, and was told I’d be sent home if I complained.”
“We paid thousands and were left with nothing,” said Ms Coregore. “Is this how Britain treats those who answer its call for help?”
A System Built to Exploit?
What links these cases isn’t just nationality. It’s structure. The UK’s Health and Care Worker visa ties migrants to a single sponsor. If that sponsor turns rogue, disappears, or fails to provide work, the worker’s visa and life collapses.
This system:
- Incentivises shady companies to recruit for profit, not need.
- Prevents carers from switching jobs, creating dependence and silence.
- Lacks a compensation mechanism, leaving victims with nothing after paying everything.
Tribunal Wins, But No Real Justice
While all three rulings went in favour of the workers, the total financial compensation across eight carers was just over £5,000 a fraction of what they paid to get to Britain. Not one employer faced prosecution. Not one director was fined.
“It’s like being robbed, and the judge gives you back your bus fare,” said a legal advocate.
What Campaigners Are Demanding
- A national compensation scheme for migrant carers.
- Criminal prosecution of companies charging illegal recruitment fees.
- Reform of the visa system to allow mobility and protection.
- Whistleblower protections for those in sponsored roles.
The UK government has revoked over 470 sponsor licences, impacting 40,000 migrant workers but critics say revoking licences doesn’t undo the harm.
“This is state-sponsored labour exploitation,” said Jane Townson, CEO of the Homecare Association. “The government invited them in and abandoned them.”
What Now?
As public awareness grows, so too does the call for reckoning. These women brave enough to go to tribunal may be the first cracks in a wall of silence.
But until there is real reform, real accountability, and real justice, the question remains:
How many more Zimbabwean carers must suffer before Britain cares back?
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