What would tougher immigration rules for non-EU workers mean for recruiters?

Nick Martindale

Reducing the number of immigrants coming into the UK has been a central tenet of Conservative Party policy since the 2010 election campaign. This has been hampered by a combination of the coalition with the Liberal Democrats and restrictions on the ability to curb migration from the EU, but there has been a steady toughening of rules around entering and working in the UK for those coming from outside the EU.

Already there have been moves to restrict the ability of British residents to bring foreign spouses to the UK unless they earn £18,600 a year, and to withdraw the right for overseas students to work while at university. But a two-part consultation on the Tier 2 (skilled work) visa system is due out later this year, and the Migration Advisory Committee has been asked to evaluate a range of its proposals, which if implemented could have significant ramifications for both UK businesses and recruiters.

Laura Devine, managing partner of Laura Devine Solicitors, says there are a number of measures that could be introduced, ranging from increasing salary thresholds below which immigrants will not be accepted to restricting work visas to “highly skilled specialists” and areas experiencing “genuine skills shortages”.

On top of this, she points out that the cap on restricted certificates of sponsorship (CoS) for skilled workers, initially introduced in 2011, has now been reached, meaning priority is now awarded to those in certain categories, such as those working in occupations suffering from skills shortages, those seeking PhD positions and people commanding higher salaries. “As the economy continues to improve, this arbitrary ceiling is being met at precisely the point when these workers are needed most,” she points out. “Should this trend continue, it will have a very real impact on recruiters, who in the past could typically rely on CoS being granted for qualified candidates who met the points-based requirements.”

The proposed changes are certainly concerning recruiters in some sectors, particularly those which rely on foreign workers to address skills shortages. In health, the Royal College of Nursing has warned that proposals to deport low-earning professionals after six years could see 3,365 nurses leave the country, and warns that this could spiral to almost 30,000 by 2020.

“Changes to visa requirements – namely that professionals who do not meet the high income threshold can remain in the UK for a maximum of six years – mean that many qualified and able non-EU candidates with relevant UK experience are no longer able to work in the UK,” says Nick Simpson, CEO of MSI Group. “This is creating an unnecessary churn of non-EEA nurses which is of no benefit to the NHS.” The situation is compounded by the fact that adult nurses are not on the government’s shortage occupation list, he adds, describing this as “unfathomable”.

The IT and technology sector is another which has traditionally found itself recruiting from overseas. “Not only does it mean firms won’t be able to hire from outside of the EU, but it could also mean that internal company transfers would be restricted,” warns Michael Bennett, managing director of ReThink Recruitment. “Students could also potentially be affected as they’re less likely to be able to secure a role at the end of their studies, which could mean fewer will want to study here.” In the longer-term businesses could even decide to locate elsewhere, if they feel they will be unable to resource themselves efficiently in the UK, he adds.

Market research is another area that would feel the pinch, says Sinead Hasson, managing director of Hasson Associates. “While we do recruit a lot of people from within the EU, we also rely on candidates from countries like India,” she says. “These restrictions would pile even more pressure onto a sector that is already crying out for talent. For recruiters that specialise in finding talent for UK-based companies, the plans would take away a significant talent pool, limiting our ability to find the very best candidates.”

Recruiters will inevitably find themselves feeling the pressure as a result of any toughening up of the new regulations, but will also need to be able to advise clients on how to proceed. In some cases, they may be blissfully unaware of the changing dynamics, suggests Bennett, meaning recruiters have to educate them on the new regime. “We will also need to promote the importance of hiring on attitude and softer skills, rather than attempting to find the perfect candidate who already has all the required attributes,” he suggests. “Areas like flexible working will also grow in importance as firms will have to find more creative ways for attracting the smaller pool of experts to their organisation.”

They can also help by advocating clients consider alternative solutions to develop their own talent, suggests Hasson. “This could involve a range of things, including internal training programmes, fast-track schemes or identifying people with transferable skills that could be offered a role in one of the problem areas,” she suggests.

In certain sectors, this could extend to longer-term initiatives to attract people into the sector and train them up for future positions. “If we take health and medicine as an example, there needs to be a clear strategy for removing barriers to entry, increasing training opportunities and attracting talent to the industry at an earlier stage, increasing internship opportunities and improving the image of the sector as a career choice,” warns Nicola Mewse, operations manager at Hales Group. “Only by doing this will we reduce the reliance on non-EU candidates. But it is a strategy that may take many months, if not years, to filter through into candidate availability.”

Unless initiatives such as these between recruiter and clients are introduced and allowed to flourish, however, the restrictions on skilled non-EU migrant workers – not to mention any potential blocks on EU labour should the UK leave the EU – could make life considerably trickier for both recruiters and businesses already suffering from paucity of talent.

“Some checks and balances are always necessary, but such a high threshold of restriction may have a number of possible effects,” says Kate Russell, managing director of Russell HR Consulting. “For example, work could be outsourced abroad on a project basis to sites where skills can be bought in. Some business activities may be moved permanently from the UK to an area where the work can be done reliably. Flexibility and an ability to run businesses cost-effectively is essential to the continued recovery. This initiative will have the opposite effect.”