Watch Out… Brexodus Is About!

It’s not like every EU worker is leaving the UK, but many are, and far fewer are coming back in again. The most recent migration stats from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), published in July this year, indicate a clear trend – the number of people coming to the UK from the EU had fallen by 9,000 in the year to December 2017, whilst the number of EU citizens leaving increased by 23,000.

Workers from the A8 group of Eastern European nations are leaving at a faster rate than any other. This includes workers from Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

A CIPD report published on 13 August 2018 highlights the significant impact that ‘Brexodus’ is having on recruitment, suggesting that the decreased flow of EU nationals coming into the UK is ‘feeding into the increasing recruitment and retention challenges’. This is especially relevant for industry sectors that have historically been dependent on non-UK labour to fill jobs and are now particularly vulnerable to future changes to the UK’s immigration policy.

Further research indicates that employers are hungry to fill jobs, and the number of vacancies has grown at a rapid pace since November 2017, but many employers have reported a shortage of EU migrants applying for jobs since the Brexit vote in June 2016. This is the case in several industry sectors – from the motor trade to agriculture; hospitality to care services; construction to transport… the list goes on.

As a result, organisations have had to reconsider ways of attracting and retaining their staff. Several have increased salaries for all employees, whereas others have strategically focused their salary benefits for key members of personnel. Some employers are simply offering EU workers extra incentives (medical insurance, bonuses, higher salaries) to lure them into committing to UK jobs ahead of Brexit. Others are promising to pay for permanent residence applications and fees as part of the overall recruitment package.

Some businesses have decided to concentrate efforts on developing ‘home-grown’ talent – that is, UK employees! Efforts are pouring into development schemes and succession plans to manage senior and strategic recruitment within the UK, but most companies will rely on non-UK staff, and Brexit is not being kind to them.

As we know, the government has confirmed a ‘settlement scheme’, open to all EU citizens living in the UK from March 2019. To qualify, the EU citizen needs to have lived in the UK continuously for five years and have started living here by 31 December 2020 (although applications will be accepted up to June 2021). For those EU citizens who arrive in the UK before 30 June 2021, but who have not lived in the UK continuously for five years, a ‘pre-settled’ status will be granted, and they can apply for the settled status once they meet the five-year point.

Although this provides some clarity on EU citizens who are already living and working in the UK, or who arrive by June 2021, what this does not do is provide any clarity to UK businesses on whether they can recruit European staff beyond that point. The government has not communicated anything on that key issue at all. So, what can employers do right now to prepare for Brexit in the event they cannot easily recruit from the EU beyond 2020?

Know who you employ – a critical point so that you can understand who and where your EU staff are based, and you can discuss with them their plans to apply for settled status. It is important to detail key information on all staff (UK and EU) including their nationality, location, job title, start date, length of residence, and any period of time seconded in or out of the UK or EU, as this can affect any applications for settled status. You need to collate this data in a way that is not discriminatory, meaning everyone should be asked to bring in appropriate documentation, and the information should be processed and stored in a way complaint with GDPR legislation.

Current EU recruitment – you need to ensure that anyone you recruit from the EU understands what they need to do to progress their settlement application from March 2019.

Consider your recruitment strategy for the future – are you going to support your EU staff through the settlement process financially? The UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) office has a toolkit which you can distribute to your EU staff as a useful starting point. If the government decides you need to sponsor EU staff post Brexit (as non-EU staff currently have to be sponsored to work in the UK), are you willing to become a sponsor, and pay for all the fees involved? If you can’t or won’t become a sponsor, how will your roles be filled?

Consider how your recruitment processes will change post Brexit:

• What information or evidence will you need that the EU worker has applied for settlement status?
• Intra-business secondment processes will need amending if EU citizens are to work outside the UK for any length of time.
• How will skills gaps be managed? Will you focus more on UK staff development or potentially pay to sponsor EU citizens, even for less skilled positions?

These are just a few points – there are several considerations without any real answers at this point. But we do know that Brexodus is real, and it is a real business issue. Not only are EU staff leaving, but UK staff know they can push for a better employment deal elsewhere – it’s definitely more of a ‘employees’ market’ right now, so employers beware!

by: Tar Tumber 

http://www.workplacelaw.co.uk