LONDON – More than a hundred migrants and their families, including those from Zimbabwe, face the prospect of being in Britain illegally after the company that sponsored their visas was stripped of its ability to do so.
The Home Office has revoked the licence of Renaissance Personnel, a care agency in Brighton, over concerns about the genuineness of vacancies and whether staff were being paid appropriately.
Foreign workers employed by Renaissance Personnel now have just weeks to find a new sponsor or return home before their legal right to remain in the UK expires. Among those affected is Muhammad, 45, who brought his wife and four children from Pakistan to Britain in April 2023, hoping for a better future based on promises of employment as a care assistant.
“They were having the dream that, okay, we will move to the UK. We will have great education. Now they are worried,” Muhammad told Sky News. “They ask me, ‘Baba, what will we do?’ Always we will be going here, there and now we don’t have anywhere.”
Muhammad claims he paid £19,000 to a recruitment agent before receiving a certificate of sponsorship and job offer from Renaissance Personnel. The company, however, denies any connection to foreign recruitment agents. Upon arrival, Muhammad discovered there was no work available for him despite his certificate stating an urgent need for care workers with “1500 hours uncovered per week.” He was supposed to be guaranteed 39 hours of work per week but found no contracted work available.
He pleaded with Renaissance Personnel’s boss, Dennis Mawadzi, for an administrative job and ended up working in the company’s Brighton office. The Brighton branch, registered with the Care Quality Commission in January 2021, has never been inspected.
Muhammad claims more than 150 foreign workers were recruited for the Brighton site alone, but there is only enough work for about 15 staff members. Brighton and Hove Council confirmed to Sky News that it had used Renaissance Personnel to deliver care to a small number of clients. A council spokesperson stated, “We currently have six clients placed with Renaissance Personnel and it informed us directly of both the recent investigation and the subsequent notice it has had its overseas sponsor licence revoked.”
Fajar, 20, who arrived from Pakistan in June 2023 with a certificate of sponsorship from Renaissance, also found himself without the promised work. “I only worked for a few days, like three or four days in June. And after that, I have not got any work,” he said. Fajar’s parents gave £20,000 to an agent before he received his documents, and now he needs to earn money to pay them back.
Both Fajar and Muhammad claim they haven’t been paid by Renaissance Personnel for months. Sky News understands that Mawadzi hosted a virtual meeting for employees to explain the loss of the sponsorship licence. Muhammad, who attended the call, described workers as upset and angry, questioning their next steps and demanding payment.
The Home Office’s revocation of Renaissance Personnel’s licence puts the affected workers in a precarious position. With more than 116,000 companies listed as “approved sponsors” in the UK, these migrants now have 60 days to secure new sponsorship or face returning home. The situation highlights the vulnerabilities faced by foreign workers and the stringent checks required to protect their rights and ensure fair employment practices.
