Employers should be barred from recruiting foreign workers at below the market rate for pay to force them to recruit British staff, a Government-commissioned report has recommended.
In its review, the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) called for the abolition of rules that allow companies to pay foreigners 20 per cent less than the going rate in jobs where there is deemed to be a shortage of workers.
The MAC said scrapping the rules would help to prevent companies undercutting UK domestic worker pay rates by employing foreigners and combat the exploitation of migrants.
The so-called shortage occupation list (SOL) includes some 60 types of jobs such as bricklayers, roofers, plasterers, care workers, architects, vets and web designers.
It is designed to help migrants fill vacant jobs, allowing them to pay lower visa fees and enabling their employers to pay them 80 per cent of the job’s usual rate down to a minimum of £20,960. That compares with a threshold of £26,200 under the main “skilled worker” route.
**‘No good reason’**
The MAC said there was “no good reason” why an occupation should be able to be paid below the going rate, regardless of whether there is a shortage.
It added that low-paid roles were more likely to see migrants exploited and were more likely to lead to a net fiscal cost for the UK, meaning some of the burden could fall to the taxpayer.
The committee said it was not convinced the list provided a “sensible immigration solution” to labour shortages, and recommended that the Government abolish it.
Instead, the MAC suggested it could be commissioned to carry out reviews of the role of immigration in certain sectors, such as manufacturing or hospitality.
**‘Government should work to abolish the SOL’**
Professor Brian Bell, the MAC chair, said: “The SOL has always played a relatively minor role in immigration policy, but recent changes to the immigration system have diminished that role further.
“We are not convinced that the SOL is an effective tool to address labour shortages across different occupations and sectors. We think a broader approach that focuses on all aspects of the labour market for a particular sector, of which immigration may be part, would be more beneficial.”
Despite its recommendation to abolish the rules, the MAC proposed adding eight occupations to the 2023 UK-wide list, including care workers, lab technicians, bricklayers, roofers and animal care services.
For the Scotland-only list, it suggested including fishing and forestry managers and boat and ship builders.
But professor Bell added: “Going forward, however, we think that the Government should work to abolish the SOL.”
I actually agree….the NHS is a prime example of this mess.
I also see those nursing homes hiring from Africa and putting them on the lowest wage. To me it’s a new form of slavery.
>Employers should be barred from recruiting foreign workers at below the market rate for pay to force them to recruit British staff
I can guarantee that being able to save 20% on staffing costs means that people inside the UK are being ignored for these jobs.
That’s a big saving for companies.
>enabling their employers to pay them 80 per cent of the job’s usual rate down to a minimum of £20,960
N.B. that’s minimum wage.
There isn’t a single person on minimum wage in this country that doesn’t cost the country **more** than their tax / NI intake provides, making them a drain on government coffers.
We should not be importing workers who are a net financial drain on the country to provide benefits to employers – if the person employed is not going to be a net financial benefit to the country, at the bare minimum the person employed should already be a citizen of the country.
Low wage immigration is essentially the new slavery.
how did the Tories, happen up on being right, and actually doing something to help British workers?
​
Im so confused
I mean yeah – being able to do this is why the Tories have allowed unprecedented migration into the country while also pointing at the 3.6% that are illegal migrants and blaming all our infrastructure and cultural issues on them and them alone. It needs to stop otherwise migration will be used to continue to undermine unions and suppress british workers wages.
Simply put, regardless of where you come from if you work in this country you should be paid a minimum that is equal for all applicant’s.
Wait Breverman said today that ‘immigrant hurricane’ is coming. Now it’s equal pay and scare mongering tactics on the other. What a load of tosh all round from the tories.
7 comments
Employers should be barred from recruiting foreign workers at below the market rate for pay to force them to recruit British staff, a Government-commissioned report has recommended.
In its review, the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) called for the abolition of rules that allow companies to pay foreigners 20 per cent less than the going rate in jobs where there is deemed to be a shortage of workers.
The MAC said scrapping the rules would help to prevent companies undercutting UK domestic worker pay rates by employing foreigners and combat the exploitation of migrants.
The so-called shortage occupation list (SOL) includes some 60 types of jobs such as bricklayers, roofers, plasterers, care workers, architects, vets and web designers.
It is designed to help migrants fill vacant jobs, allowing them to pay lower visa fees and enabling their employers to pay them 80 per cent of the job’s usual rate down to a minimum of £20,960. That compares with a threshold of £26,200 under the main “skilled worker” route.
**‘No good reason’**
The MAC said there was “no good reason” why an occupation should be able to be paid below the going rate, regardless of whether there is a shortage.
It added that low-paid roles were more likely to see migrants exploited and were more likely to lead to a net fiscal cost for the UK, meaning some of the burden could fall to the taxpayer.
The committee said it was not convinced the list provided a “sensible immigration solution” to labour shortages, and recommended that the Government abolish it.
Instead, the MAC suggested it could be commissioned to carry out reviews of the role of immigration in certain sectors, such as manufacturing or hospitality.
**‘Government should work to abolish the SOL’**
Professor Brian Bell, the MAC chair, said: “The SOL has always played a relatively minor role in immigration policy, but recent changes to the immigration system have diminished that role further.
“We are not convinced that the SOL is an effective tool to address labour shortages across different occupations and sectors. We think a broader approach that focuses on all aspects of the labour market for a particular sector, of which immigration may be part, would be more beneficial.”
Despite its recommendation to abolish the rules, the MAC proposed adding eight occupations to the 2023 UK-wide list, including care workers, lab technicians, bricklayers, roofers and animal care services.
For the Scotland-only list, it suggested including fishing and forestry managers and boat and ship builders.
But professor Bell added: “Going forward, however, we think that the Government should work to abolish the SOL.”
I actually agree….the NHS is a prime example of this mess.
I also see those nursing homes hiring from Africa and putting them on the lowest wage. To me it’s a new form of slavery.
>Employers should be barred from recruiting foreign workers at below the market rate for pay to force them to recruit British staff
I can guarantee that being able to save 20% on staffing costs means that people inside the UK are being ignored for these jobs.
That’s a big saving for companies.
>enabling their employers to pay them 80 per cent of the job’s usual rate down to a minimum of £20,960
N.B. that’s minimum wage.
There isn’t a single person on minimum wage in this country that doesn’t cost the country **more** than their tax / NI intake provides, making them a drain on government coffers.
We should not be importing workers who are a net financial drain on the country to provide benefits to employers – if the person employed is not going to be a net financial benefit to the country, at the bare minimum the person employed should already be a citizen of the country.
Low wage immigration is essentially the new slavery.
how did the Tories, happen up on being right, and actually doing something to help British workers?
​
Im so confused
I mean yeah – being able to do this is why the Tories have allowed unprecedented migration into the country while also pointing at the 3.6% that are illegal migrants and blaming all our infrastructure and cultural issues on them and them alone. It needs to stop otherwise migration will be used to continue to undermine unions and suppress british workers wages.
Simply put, regardless of where you come from if you work in this country you should be paid a minimum that is equal for all applicant’s.
Wait Breverman said today that ‘immigrant hurricane’ is coming. Now it’s equal pay and scare mongering tactics on the other. What a load of tosh all round from the tories.