BCC and Indeed: Immigration proposals could exacerbate labour shortages

09 July 2019

Over half of UK businesses with staff from outside the UK would be negatively impacted by government proposals for the UK’s future immigration system, according to new research released by the British Chambers of Commerce and global job site Indeed.

According to a survey of 380 businesses that currently employ non-UK nationals, 53% report they would be negatively impacted by proposals requiring all skilled migrant workers to earn a minimum annual salary of £30k once the UK leaves the EU.

57% of employers say they would be adversely affected by plans to impose a 12-month work and residency limit on lower skilled migrants, requiring workers to leave the UK for at least a year once their visa had expired.

Over a third of firms (34%) would be negatively impacted by an extension of the Immigration Skills Charge to EU nationals. The charge is currently paid by businesses for each migrant worker they recruit from outside the EU, adding to the upfront costs of employment.

Businesses also report a need for access to foreign language skills. 23% of respondents say German and Mandarin Chinese will be important to their business in the next five years, and 20% say French and Spanish will be – highlighting both the importance of ensuring native speakers are available and improving language skills in the UK workforce. [...]

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