All change for UK immigration?

Following what is widely described as a landslide victory, the Labour Party returns to power after 14 years. What does this likely mean for UK legal migration policies?

Linking immigration with industrial strategy

Labour has emphasised that policy decisions on migration, skills and pay should not be considered in isolation from the national industrial strategy. Migration to address skills shortages should be tied to plans to upskill the domestic workforce and improve working conditions where necessary.

Four sectors with skills shortages have initially been identified: health and social care, construction, engineering and IT. While acknowledging there is currently a need for migrant workers to fill the vacancies in these sectors, Labour has also confirmed it intends to require employers to implement workforce and training plans drawn up by relevant government departments to train up local workers, reducing future reliance on overseas workers. If individual companies are deemed not to be doing enough on workforce training, they may lose their ability to sponsor migrant workers. 

The new government has further indicated that employers that breach employment law will be barred from hiring workers from abroad. It remains to be seen which types of breaches would lead to a sponsor licence being suspended or revoked, as Labour has plans to strengthen many areas of employment law such as introducing restrictions on ‘fire and rehire’ and giving employees the right not to be unfairly dismissed from day one of employment. 

However, given the current concerns about modern slavery and the exploitation of migrant workers through debt bondage, breaches surrounding the national minimum wage would likely be a big area of focus.

(Slightly) friendlier work visa policies

In April, the Conservative government significantly increased the salary threshold for skilled migrants coming to work in the UK from £26,200 to £38,700. This was criticised by Labour, which has since confirmed it would ask the Migration Advisory Committee to review the impact of the increase. There is a reasonable prospect that the salary threshold, particularly for certain roles with shortages, may be reduced following the review.

Nonetheless, the overarching goal is still a reduction in net migration, albeit with no specific targets in mind. It has been reported that Labour may reintroduce the ‘resident labour market test’, which requires employers to show they have tried to recruit in the UK before hiring from overseas. Together with the aforementioned workforce plans and changes to employment law, employers could expect a heavier financial and compliance burden under the new government. 

Youth mobility arrangement with the EU

In April, the European Union proposed negotiating with the UK on a youth mobility scheme to make it easier for those aged 18 to 30 to travel, work and live in the EU and the UK. At the time, Labour said the party had no plans for such a scheme. However, Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has indicated he would campaign for this after the election. 

The scheme could be a good tool to address labour shortages in certain sectors of the economy while giving British young people the opportunity to upskill through working in Europe. Furthermore, with a ‘working holiday’ visa that is not dependent on support from a third party, concerns surrounding worker exploitation should be less relevant. The fact that visa holders will have a time-limited and non-extendable permission, which does not directly lead to settlement in the UK, also makes this palatable from a net migration perspective. 

Alongside an intention to forge a better relationship with the EU post-Brexit, there are strong incentives for Labour to reconsider its position although, perhaps, in the medium term once other priorities are addressed.

First published in People Management.