London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

Home Office extends NHS coronavirus bereavement scheme to low-paid workers

A bereavement scheme granting indefinite leave to remain to the relatives and dependants of foreign NHS workers has been extended to low-paid workers, the Government has said.
The scheme, announced last month, was intended to offer security to the families of migrant workers if they should die working on the frontline of the pandemic. But it caused outrage after care workers, hospital cleaners and porters were excluded.

It initially only applied to certain occupations in the system including nurses, biochemists and radiographers. The GMB union had described it as an ‘outrageous scandal’ which left low-paid workers ‘out in the cold’.

However, the Home Office made the U-turn moments after the daily No 10 press briefing on Wednesday, during which NHS England’s national director, Stephen Powis, insisted there are a ‘huge number of people working behind the scenes’ in hospitals who often don’t get praised.

The scheme will now include cleaners, porters, social care staff and care home workers and will come into effect immediately and retrospectively, said officials.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: ‘Every death in this crisis is a tragedy, and sadly some NHS support staff and social care workers have made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of saving the lives of others.

‘When I announced the introduction of the bereavement scheme in April, I said we would continue to work across Government to look at ways to offer further support. Today we are extending the scheme to NHS support staff and social care workers.

‘We want to ensure families have the support they need and so this will be effective immediately and retrospectively.’

Hours before the announcement, hospital cleaner Hassan Akkad called on Boris Johnson to extend the scheme in an impassioned Twitter video.

The Bafta award-winning filmmaker from Syria said although he had been ‘enjoying the clapping’ that ministers do every week, he felt let down when he learned his partner wouldn’t qualify for the scheme.

He said: ‘Today, however, I felt betrayed, stabbed in the back.

‘I felt shocked to find out that you’ve decided, your government decided, to exclude myself and my colleagues who work as cleaners and porters and social care workers who are… all on minimum wage, you’ve decided to exclude us from the bereavement scheme.

The Home Office’s move came after Professor Powis paid tribute to all NHS and care workers during today’s Downing Street press briefing.

He said: ‘All I can say is, as a doctor who has worked on the front line for many years, how much I value the entire multidisciplinary teams – so everybody from porter to manager to administrator to nurse who absolutely work together as a team in managing this sort of crisis but also in the day-to-day care that the NHS provides.

‘It’s often the doctors and nurses who are at the front and get the praise but believe me there are a huge number of people working behind the scenes.’

The news comes as Yvette Cooper, chairwoman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, raised concerns about care workers and low-paid NHS staff not being included in the Home Office’s free visa extension scheme.

Ms Cooper said: ‘It is really disappointing to get confirmation from the Home Secretary that care workers and low-paid NHS staff are not included in the free visa extension scheme even though we had asked the Government to rethink.

‘This means care workers applying to renew their visas along with the NHS surcharge could end up paying thousands and thousands of pounds.

‘Asking them to do this as they stand on the UK front line against coronavirus, caring for and supporting people, and putting their own health at risk feels deeply unfair.’

Last month, the Government said it was expanding a scheme to help NHS workers so that migrant midwives, social workers, pharmacists and other frontline health staff will be granted free visa extensions for a year.

All visas for the health workers in question which are due to expire before October 1 will be automatically renewed for a year.

The Home Office said it ‘will apply to those working both in the NHS and independent sector and include their family members’.

Those who qualify will also be exempt from the immigration health surcharge during the extension.

But the measures are unlikely to extend to carers working in small private care homes because the Home Office said such staff were more likely to be working in the country on a long-term visa, which allows them to work, rather than having a time-limited shorter-term sponsored work visa.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×