The national labour shortage is making it increasingly difficult for Bedfordshire businesses to fill posts with suitable candidates – and the scale of the problem should not be underestimated.
A report in January 2023 from the House of Commons Library explains that whilst labour demand is now above pre-pandemic levels, the labour supply is trailing below it. The industries with the highest percentage of businesses experiencing worker shortages are accommodation and food services, and construction, but many other sectors are feeling the squeeze too, including critical social infrastructure like health and social work.
Bringing workers in from abroad can be a pragmatic solution, especially as the UK is almost universally seen as an attractive professional destination, but how exactly does this work in a post-Brexit immigration scenario? What must businesses now do to ensure they bring people into this country legally to work, wherever they’re bringing them from?
Omayemi Mac-Jaja and David Rushmere of Bedfordshire Chamber member Machins Solicitors, give some expert insight into immigrants’ ‘right to work’, and how local businesses can make it easier for themselves to lawfully bring in talent from overseas.
How the legals work
Specialist Immigration solicitor Omayemi explains that the fundamental legal instrument for bringing migrant workers into this country is a sponsor licence, issued by the Home Office.
However, he emphasises that while firms intending to hire migrants from both within and outside the UK require a sponsor licence, the documentation required for the application may vary depending on the sector and organisation concerned.
For example, the documentation required for hospitals or care homes may include additional documents not required for other organisations such as, say, restaurants, law firms, or local authorities.
Importantly, the Home Office is a little more flexible with documentation from start-ups, as these may not have all the documents that would be expected from businesses that have been trading for a significant period of time.
It is also a very time-pressured process. The employer must not only submit the sponsor licence application, but also ensure that all supporting documents are sent to the Home Office within five working days after the online sponsor licence application is submitted.
If a sponsor licence is awarded, your business must then issue the worker with a Certificate of Sponsorship, and the worker then uses this to apply (and pay for) the necessary visa to enable them to enter or stay in the country, to work in the post offered.
Immigration: from where, to where?
Omayemi explains that employment immigration law in this country now applies, post-Brexit, to workers from the European Union too, but also that worker immigration into this country is perhaps more diverse than people realise (Machins often handles applications from the US and Canada, as well as from Asia, Africa, and the EU).
In terms of the sectors immigrant workers come to the UK to work in, EU citizens have historically tended to be concentrated in finance, professional or scientific occupations, and education – at least in London.
Outside of London, the health sector was already generating as much as 60% of all certificates of sponsorship by 2020, but by early 2022 migrant workers were also strongly represented in the hospitality sector, transport and storage, and information, communication, and IT.
Immigration, it would seem, now offers opportunities for employers to recruit workers across a broader skills spectrum than might have been the case barely two or three years ago.
Understanding costs, minimising error
Omayemi makes it clear that the cost involved in sponsoring immigrant workers makes it all the more important to get the process right first-time round.
“The costs to the business soon add up,” he said. “The sponsor licence application costs between £536 and £1,476, depending on the size of your business, and each Certificate of Sponsorship costs £199.
“But there are also ongoing costs, like the Immigration Skills Charge, which can be either £364 or £1,000 for the first year, depending on the size of your business, and then 50% of that for each additional six months of sponsorship.”
And there is a double whammy if your sponsor licence application is unsuccessful, because you may not get the fee back, and you may have to wait for another six months before a further application can be submitted, in certain circumstances.
Omayemi’s message is clear: get legal help early. That way, there is a far better chance you will get who you need into post in a timely fashion, rather than waste money for no result.
Where the Chamber adds value
For David Rushmere, this is a perfect example of how Chamber membership adds value to businesses by connecting them to solutions to pressing problems.
“I was at a Chamber event where questions were asked around making it easier for local businesses to recruit from abroad to combat the labour shortage,” he said. “Clearly, our ability to step in and take care of the legal side of things became the next talking point!”
As a local business and major regional employer, says David, Machins sees the Chamber as ‘the beating heart of local commercial life’, and values it as much for the suppliers it connects them to as for the prospective clients.
“The Chamber,” as he says, “is hugely important to us.”
For more information on how Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce can connect your business to expert resources, visit www.chamber-business.com or call 01582 522448.
Omayemi Mac-Jaja and David Rushmere
of Bedfordshire Chamber member Machins Solicitors
