Member Article

Employers face testing time with introduction of immigration cap

NEW restrictions on employing foreign workers could make life difficult for a range of North-East companies and organisations, a North East law firm has warned.

Ward Hadaway said that the new cap on the number of skilled workers allowed into the UK from outside Europe could hit a number of sectors in the region, particularly the IT and healthcare industries.

And the law firm warns that businesses and organisations which fall foul of the rules aimed at preventing illegal working face a range of penalties including substantial fines.

The Government has announced that from April next year the cap on the number of skilled workers allowed in to UK from outside the European Union will be 21,700 – about 6,300 lower than in 2009.

A thousand of these will be people allowed in under a new “exceptional talent” route, such as scientists, academics and artists.

There will be a new minimum salary of at least £40,000 for these employees, or £24,000 for if they will be in the UK for less than 12 months.

Employment lawyer Kunal Duggal, of Ward Hadaway, said: “The overall effect will be around a 25% reduction in the number of foreign nationals allowed to work in the UK, something which could cause a serious headache to North-East employers with find themselves unable to fill gaps in their workforce with workers from within the EU.

“Companies and organisations will find life much harder when it comes to recruiting non-EU nationals, and those who currently employ such individuals will find it harder to keep them on after April.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .