APPG Event Recording: The Impact of the New Immigration Rules on Employers in the UK

On the 21^st of September, the APPG on Migration hosted an event presenting the findings of its Inquiry into the Impact of the New Immigration Rules on Employers in the UK. Given the recent introduction of the UK’s Points Based System, the inquiry aimed to hear the ensuing impact of the new rules on employers from different sectors and in different parts of the country, with a view to propose reforms that the Government could undertake to benefit business and the UK economy.

Chaired by Tim Farron MP, the event included presentations from Gemma Hyslop, a Solicitor at Fragomen LLP and author of the APPG inquiry report, Luíza Gomes, the Campaigns Advisor at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, and Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory, Oxford, and member of the Migration Advisory Committee. For a full recording of the event, please click below:

Gemma Hyslop summarised the Inquiry Report and outlined its methodology and key recommendations, which included:

• Making sponsor licences less administratively and legally complex
• Issuing work permits for perceived ‘low skilled’ roles in cases where there are likely to be acute shortages
• Expanding the Tier 5 Youth Mobility route to include further nationalities through multilateral engagement with relevant countries
• Considering the introduction of additional sector-specific, short term work permits
• Improving the quality of guidance, and training, around Right to Work checks
• Reducing the overall cost of a visa application for roles on the shortage occupation list or for small businesses
• Developing a cross-Whitehall skills strategy for sectors particularly impacted by an acute skills shortage following the introduction of the new Rules

Luíza Gomes discussed the current labour shortages and the impact of the new immigration rules on businesses based on findings from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s labour shortages survey.

Madeleine Sumption reflected on what the current data can say, and what we are yet to find out, about the impact of the new immigration system on the UK labour market in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Q&A session with the audience and panellists followed, which featured contributions from business associations representatives, academics, and migrant workers. The event came to an end with some final reflections on the topic from Tim Farron MP.