Should the current free movement of workers be ruled out after Brexit, the government must tailor its approach to the needs of each sector – or face chaos in 2019, says Alison Weatherhead
While it might currently be unclear exactly when and how Brexit negotiations might begin, businesses’ concerns about the possible outcomes remain unchanged.
With many industry sectors across the UK facing a possible post-Brexit staffing crisis, employers are set for an uncertain future as they wait to learn how the immigration system will accommodate companies that rely on European workers.
Simply to extend the current points-based system (PBS) to European workers, who until now enjoyed freedom of movement, would be disastrous both to businesses and the government. The PBS relies on employers becoming sponsors to migrants and acting in many ways as an extension of the state, with onerous obligations to monitor and track any migrants they employ.
The sponsor itself, and its directors, become open to intense scrutiny and the process is expensive and time-consuming in terms of becoming licensed to sponsor, during the recruitment and appointment process, and in the day-to-day management of the migrant thereafter. For the government, rolling out the PBS to all could be equally cumbersome, as civil servants are already stretched dealing with the current batch of immigration-related applications.
More importantly, a one-size-fits-all approach is impractical for many industries. The current PBS minimum skills and financial requirements will simply not be attainable for sectors such as agriculture and hospitality. These industries have already raised concerns about their ability to operate without access to EU workers: following Pret A Manger's announcement that it fears a “staffing crisis” should EU immigration be unduly restricted, the National Farmers' Union has advised that a lack of access to a flexible and competent workforce from Europe would have a “number of consequences”.
In response to these concerns, some have suggested opening up the PBS to low-skilled temporary workers. However, the practicalities of how this would function remain unclear. Instead, there is a growing acceptance that a sector-specific approach may be far more practical.
A regional model that focuses on local labour market shortages – akin to the province-by-province approach used in Canada – has already been rejected by the government. But the door appears to have been left open to a multi-layered approach, with ideas such as a two-year ‘barista visa’. The UK has previously successfully operated this type of immigration system with the old Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme.
Immigration minister Robert Goodwill acknowledged that the UK would need a “bespoke immigration system” and indicated the need for different rules for individuals depending on what sector they work in. He also confirmed that business and industry will be consulted this summer as part of the preparations for the new immigration policy.
That was certainly an encouraging sign. But with negotiators reluctant to give too much away ahead of Brexit talks, industries with a high number of EU nationals must assess and consider how best to address any potential skills gap they would face in the less favourable scenarios.
Employers shouldn’t change their recruitment strategy at this stage, as targeting only UK-based workers could leave them open to a discrimination claim. Instead, now might be a good time to lobby the government with specific and well-documented concerns, before the negotiating sides become entrenched.
Alison Weatherhead is a director in the employment, pensions and immigration team at Maclay Murray & Spens