HR Magazine - New migration rules will worsen labour shortages
Measures set by government designed to cut migration are likely to exacerbate labour shortages, particularly in the care and hospitality sectors, according to experts.
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Measures set by government designed to cut migration are likely to exacerbate labour shortages, particularly in the care and hospitality sectors, according to experts.
Fines for businesses that knowingly employ illegal migrants are set to triple from their current rate at the start of 2024 following new rules announced by the government on 7 August.
Only around 3% of employers currently hold a sponsor licence to employ EU or non-EU workers, according to a law firm analysis.
The government seems to be at odds over its plans for immigration, but observers agree policy will change as labour shortages bite.
Three months in and we’re yet to see the full effect of life outside the bloc. But for industries reliant on overseas staff like the care and agriculture sectors, it’s a different story It’s a job that pays around £40,000 a year but few people want to do it, and it can’t be done by a machine. So when ‘chick sexers’ – who determine whether young chickens are male or female so they can be sorted for meat or eggs – were added to the skilled worker list set by the Migration Advisory Committee, poultry farmers breathed a sigh of relief. Butchers, bricklayers and deckhands have als...