Modern slavery victim who worked 14-hour shifts in care home for 29 days straight now safe in South Yorkshire

Imagine working 14-hour shifts for 29 days straight, but only being paid £300 pounds at the end of it.

This is the reality for thousands of people who come to the UK to work in England's care system - only to find themselves exploited by unscrupulous agencies who force them to work gruelling shifts, pay little money, and threaten them with deportation if they protest.

Omar - not his real name - paid an agency in his home country in West Africa the equivalent of £10,000 for a visa to come to the UK to work in a care home. The actual cost of applying for this visa is between £500-£1500.

He was promised a salary of around £25,000, as well as accommodation, in return for around 40 hours of work a week.

When Omar arrived in the north of England, he was given accommodation in a disused care home, and found work looking after elderly people. At first all seemed well - he worked hard and enjoyed his job.

However, before he knew it, he was working for weeks at a time without a break, often from 4am to 11pm at night. He endured the hours, but when payday came, instead of the thousands he was expecting, he received only £300.

“The agency suddenly said we owed them ‘solicitor’s fees, rent, cleaning and transport costs'. When I complained, they threatened to revoke my visa and send me home,” said Omar.

Omar was shocked by the behaviour of the agency, but felt trapped in the situation. If he continued to work, he would be paid meagre wages for exhausting and excessive hours, but if he refused, he would be sent back home with nothing to show for his investment or hard work.

“It became about survival, and even if we were only earning a few hundred pounds a month, if we could send £100 back home, it feels multiplied by 10 there," said Omar.

“In my home country things are very tough, so the people who come to England will struggle through the abuse, through the pain, through everything and not say anything because you’re in a ‘better country’.”

Omar spent seven gruelling months working 18-hour shifts, day in, day out, with barely a break. He should have been earning thousands.

He said: “I remember last Christmas well, as December was my breaking point. I was told that if I worked more days, worked harder, I could expect more pay. So in December, I worked 29 out of 31 days. But the pay came and it was no more than £500, even though I had worked long long shifts. The pay should have been closer to £5,000, but they still said I owed them ‘fees'."

Relief came in the form of a police raid on the agency after a tip off about the exploitation of its workers.

He was referred to a safe house for modern slavery survivors in South Yorkshire, where he is currently hoping to have his visa taken over by another, more reputable agency.

Whilst he waits, Omar is supported by caseworkers from Causeway to keep busy with volunteer work, and by going to the gym. But being away from his family is tough.

“Sometimes when I speak to my family back home, I tell them I can’t deal with the loneliness. I’m young, I have so much energy, so much potential, but not being able to do anything - it takes a toll on you psychologically.”

Causeway is an organisation supporting vulnerable people rescued from modern slavery and human trafficking. As well as safe houses and outreach programmes, they run recovery services that include counselling sessions, employment support, confidence-building community groups, education opportunities, and a phone service that lets survivors know they are never alone.

Exploitation can happen to anyone. Estimates put the number of modern slavery and human trafficking victims in the UK at more than 100,000. Men, women, and children are experiencing extreme sexual abuse, forced labour, forced criminality, domestic servitude, and forced marriage.

Causeway supports thousands of people rescued from these nightmares each year. Their Christmas fundraising campaign, Rewriting Christmas, aims to highlight how help from Causeway can empower survivors to turn their lives around, and to show the difference in circumstances and emotional outlook, that support can make.

For more information or to support Causeway's Christmas appeal, visit their website.

The campaign is being supported by musician and chef Levi Roots, actor Jan Ravens, and former Strictly Come Dancing judge, Dame Arlene Phillips.

Arlene said: “Modern slavery is on the rise, and it’s taking place in towns and cities all across the UK.  That’s why Causeway’s Rewriting Christmas campaign is so important.  Causeway needs your support to continue their work with survivors.

"Any amount you can donate to them this Christmas will be massively appreciated, and will allow them to continue making a real difference to some of the most vulnerable in society.”