The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how crucial and significant a part workers from overseas play on the frontline in the continuing battle against the effects of the coronavirus in the UK.

Whilst immigrants from India, the Philippines and other non EU countries work tirelessly as doctors, nurses and health professionals in hospitals and care homes and to care for and look after people suffering with the virus, thousands of ‘unskilled’ workers are carrying out critical work that is essential to the running of vital services throughout the country.

Care staff, food processing staff, supermarket workers, and delivery drivers are all helping to make this period as bearable and manageable as possible. Without them the country would be in a far worse state so the very least that can be done is for the government to acknowledge and recognise that low skilled workers are just as important and are entitled to the same security as their higher skilled counterparts whose visas can be automatically extended for up to a year if their current visas expire before October 2020.

The events of the past few months have proved how integral a role all foreign employees have in UK society-any new points based system which could eliminate this essential part of our workforce is prejudicial, insensitive and potentially disastrous to the economy and overall well-being of the country as it continues to deal with the impact of the biggest crisis we have seen since World War 2.