UK care firm charged workers from Africa thousands more than cost of visa

Winnet Mushaninga says she lived with seven other women in a two-bedroom house in Leeds and worked from 7am until 8pm for low wages that didn’t cover her rent. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

A care company serving NHS patients has been charging migrant workers from Africa thousands of pounds to work in the UK when the cost of a visa is only a few hundred pounds, the Guardian has learned.

Care workers from Zimbabwe were told to pay the sums to Gloriavd Health Care Ltd in return for arranging social care jobs in and around Leeds and Bath.