The government announced major changes last week to the immigration system as part of its plan to reduce net migration and encourage more home-grown skills. If you run a business, even if you don’t currently recruit from overseas, it’s worth understanding what’s changing and how it could affect your future hiring plans.
Hiring from overseas will get harder
If your business sponsors skilled workers from outside the UK – or you’ve considered doing so – it’s about to become more difficult and more expensive.
The definition of a ‘skilled worker’ is being tightened; roles will now need to be at graduate level or above to qualify and the minimum salary levels will go up. Additionally, a special list that allowed some roles to be hired at lower salaries is being scrapped. And from now on, only jobs facing long-term shortages – and where there’s a plan to train UK workers – will be allowed to bring in overseas staff.
In short, unless the role is highly skilled and in short supply, filling it through immigration is likely to become a challenge.
No more social care recruitment from overseas
If you run a care business or provide care services, this one is especially important. The government plans to stop new overseas recruitment for social care roles. Those already here on care visas can stay for now, but no new applications will be allowed. This change will be phased in by 2028, but it’s a clear signal that care businesses need to start planning for UK-based recruitment now.
Support for high-growth, high-skill businesses
On a more positive note, if your business is in a science, tech, or design-related field, you may benefit from plans to make it easier for top global talent to come to the UK.
What can businesses do now?
Even if your business doesn’t hire from abroad, these changes are part of a wider shift in how recruitment and workforce planning will work in the UK.
It’s worth considering that the domestic hiring market may become more competitive under these new rules, so you’ll want to think about how to make your packages as attractive as possible to prospective applicants. The government also wants to boost domestic training, so you will want to look at how you can train, promote or support current staff and local candidates before casting your net wider.
These changes will roll out over the coming months and years, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for updates. If you’re not sure how these changes apply to your business or want to discuss your workforce plans, please get in touch with one of our accountants, we’re always happy to help!