New migrant worker rules outlined

It has been announced today that workers from outside the EU will need to prove they are skilled workers before they can work in Britain. The new measures are aimed at cutting the number of foreign workers travelling to the UK.

How will these measures affect employers in Chichester?

 

Employers who wish to take on non-EU workers will now have to prove there is a shortage of skill or labour for that job.

It is proposed that there will be a shortlist of jobs which there are considered to be a shortage. This means that employers will find it difficult to bring in foreign workers to fill positions not on this shortlist.

It appears that an employer wanting to take on foreign employees would have to meet three criteria.

Firstly the position must be considered skilled, secondly there has got to be a shortage in the skills needed, and thirdly it must be deemed sensible to bring a person in. Chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) Professor David Metcalf has said "there we are looking at the tension between the short-run fix of bringing immigrants in and the long-run need to upskill the economy,".

What occupations are likely to be on this list?

 

According to the MAC, who compiled the list, the occupations will include racehorse trainers, ship and hovercraft workers, veterinary surgeons and skilled chefs. Also featuring will be chemical and civil engineers and property development and construction project managers.

The measures also seem to suggest that science and maths teachers should be allowed in, but teachers of other subjects should not be.

According to the list social workers, midwives and IT technicians from outside the EU are no longer needed.

The MAC said the occupations on the list would account for around 700,000 employees.

Care Workers

 

There has been a general outcry from care homes to news of this measure. The MAC has decided that only senior care workers will qualify and must be earning at least £8.80 an hour to be allowed to come to Britain, a salary most care-home owners have suggested is above the average for this type of role and they will, therefore, not be able to pay.

Why has this measure been proposed?

 

This report comes just days after a group of MPs and peers from all parties called for significant cuts to be made in immigration.

The Cross-Party Group on Balanced Migration called for a policy of balanced migration, under which immigration levels are capped in line with the number of emigrants to maintain a stable UK population over time.

They argued that Britain would not be able to handle the estimated seven million extra migrants due to arrive before 2031.

The government, however, believes this system will be more effective than simply setting a limit on overall immigration numbers.

The MAC has said that it is intended at improving the overall skill level of the British workforce through achieving a balance between the needs of individual employers and those of the UK labour market and economy in the long term.

The MAC advises the Government, which will now have to decide whether and to what extent it wants to follow their recommendations.

 

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