Reacting to the new points based system and set of policies announced this morning by the UK Government, Lisa Bryson, Partner, Employment and Immigration, Eversheds Sutherland, Belfast said: “This new points based system and set of policies announced this morning by the UK Government will understandably cause concern, and perhaps even confusion, for employers in Northern Ireland. The Home Secretary has repeatedly referenced a system which will attract the brightest and the best people to the UK after the end 2020, with a considered move away from the provision of visas for ‘lower skilled’ and lower paid workers. We understand that the points system will require sponsored workers to have a job offer, English language skills and to be working at a certain skill level. The removal of the resident labour market test has also been confirmed which is welcome news from a sponsoring employer’s perspective.
“The minimum salary threshold will cause concern in Northern Ireland given the lower average salary levels in Northern Ireland. The announcements this morning maintain the requirement for a minimum salary level for a work visa, with the headline salary threshold being £25,600. However, it appears that this will no longer be the absolute minimum: some workers earning between £20,480 and £25,600 would still be able to get a visa, but only if they are highly qualified or working in ‘shortage’ jobs. The shortage occupations will be set by the Migration Advisory Committee and may serve to be some good news for Northern Ireland employers particularly if jobs in care, hospitality, retail and manufacturing are deemed to be shortage occupations.
“It is important to remember that free movement of people will continue up to 31 December 2020, and the changes announced this morning will only apply from 1 January 2021 onwards. This means that anyone from the EU already living and working in the UK, or arriving in the UK before the end of the year will be eligible for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. In other words, the new proposals will not apply to anyone who arrives in the UK before the end of this year. Employers who do rely on valuable EU talent should use this window of opportunity to retain and attract talent to the jobs available before the new rules take effect in January 2021. Providing comfort and clarification of this to existing EU members of staff now will be an important aspect to retaining workers in the midst of the headlines around the requirements in the future.
“Of course, sectors such as hospitality, retail, manufacturing, to name only a few, would be well advised to take steps to identify any potential pipelines of talent and to encourage workers to join their businesses now. Although there may be some scope to continue to attract talent to lower paid jobs under the new points system, until we know the detail and what the shortage occupations will be (and indeed if there may be regional variations) employers should take action where they can and make the most of what they do know now.”
