Brexit: Changes in Employment of non British Nationals
On 1 January, 2021, UKs’ transition period as it leaves the European Union came to an end. As a business owner and employer this has a considerable effect on your employees and employment policies. For the first time in over 4 decades, EU/EEA and Swiss nationals will be subject to the same immigration controls as non-EEA nationals.
If you are an employer, there are 3 things that you need to be aware of to ensure you are not in any red zones.
Sponsor license
As of January 01, 2021 employers who want to employ anyone who doesn’t hold a British Citizenship or does not have an Indefinite Leave to Remain will need a sponsor license. The current processing times are estimated to be around 10 weeks, from the date that the supporting document pack is received.
Even if your business does not have a current need for the license, you should assess if in the foreseeable future your company might need to hire a foreign employee, if so you should consider taking preemptive measures to save time.
Skilled Worker Visa
Skilled Worker License and the Intra Company Transfer License will be replacing the current Tier 2 (General) and Tier 2 (Intra-Company) visas, respectively. The nature of assessment and criteria are the biggest change in the system. A Point-based system means that different jobs will be allocated different number of points along with the requirements to meet the salary level and English language proficiency will need to be satisfied.
Whenever the employer or business is looking to sponsor a migrant worker, they would need to satisfy the Skilled Worker requirements and ensure that they have the relevant sponsor license to successfully support their employees’ visa application.
Shortage occupation list reviewed
The Shortage Occupation List was reviewed by The Migration Advisory Committee, and have added new occupations to the list. The new occupations included in the list are; butchers, welders, graphic designers, bricklayers, electricians, senior health and social care workers.
Those working in shortage occupations will benefit noticeably once the points-based system comes into effect and are likely to gain the required points to satisfy the visa application requirements.
