The recruitment industry has responded to the government’s latest announcements on migration and work. The Home Secretary’s new package on immigration measures includes rises in the minimum salary needed for skilled overseas workers and the minimum income for family visas. In other measures the government will ban health and care workers bringing family dependants to the UK and end companies being able to pay workers 20% less than the going rate for jobs on a shortage occupation list.
Commenting on the changes Neil Carberry, REC Chief Executive, said: “The government talks about wanting growth and increased productivity. Successful modern economies are international – but these changes will send the wrong signal around the world. They are wholly disproportionate, given that immigration for work in the private sector is such a small part of total immigration.
He added: “From world-leading universities to globally competitive firms, attracting people to the UK for work and study is a benefit to growth and prosperity here. And it helps to solve shortages – as the government must know, given that health and social care are the heaviest users of our expensive work visa system. But while firms have to pay the price, the government chooses to exempt itself from the new threshold. One rule for business, another for the public sector in health and care will not go down well with those in industry.
“Given the recent trend in wages, some uprating of the salary threshold would have been sensible – but such a large rise is likely to negatively effect smaller firms and those in regions farther from London,” he said. “While many roles we have shortages in are driven by labour availability, the UK also has significant skills shortages. This news also underpins again the government’s serial failure to address the skills system despite half a decade of business feedback about the failed Apprenticeship Levy and the underfunding of Further Education.”
For APSCo, Tania Bowers, Global Public Policy Director was more conciliatory: “The Home Secretary’s calls for a high skilled, high productivity, high wage economy is exactly why APSCo has long campaigned for shorter term business visas to plug UK skills gaps. The skills shortage list produced by the Migration Advisory Committee is not fit for purpose. More accurate data is needed to better understand what technical skills Britain needs and in which regions and sectors they should be deployed.
“From a clinical healthcare perspective, it is fair to say that health and social visa numbers are too high but making dramatic changes to the current rules will negatively impact service delivery,” she said, concluding: “APSCo would like to see a collaborative approach between government departments, such as the Department for Business and Trade, with the Home Office to ensure that any immigration policies enhance domestic labour market participation, leading to increased productivity and overall economic growth.”
