Historical past of the EU Immigrant Workforce within the UK within the Lead-As much as Brexit
To start out with, many Europeans have been solely actually free to stay within the UK from 2014. That is partly because of the UK’s penchant for the points-based immigration system (PBS). The UK authorities used it from 2008 to 2014 to sift out ‘expert’ immigrants.
The UK utilized the utmost variety of years for PBS beneath the Treaty of Accession, after which (unlawfully) prolonged it. So, EU nationals have been handled like non-EU nationals for as much as 9 years. They got registration playing cards (Yellow/Pink card) and allowed to remain within the UK provided that they glad PBS standards.
To sidestep these restrictions, many EU nationals, ‘expert’ or not, utilized to work as self-employed, typically by unscrupulous HR agencies. They earned much less and had no worker advantages (dental, paid depart, and so forth.). A big chunk of the EU nationals now within the UK make up this expert however undervalued workforce.
By the top of 2020, 3.eight million EU nationals utilized to remain within the UK beneath the EU Settlement Scheme. About 500,000 left the nation in 2020 alone, in accordance with the Migration Observatory, although ESCoE suggests it may need been many extra.
And few utilized for UK citizenship. In 2020, GOV UK reported fewer than 150,000 functions. With new guidelines to solely grant citizenship to EU nationals who’ve stayed within the UK for 10 years, functions are set to plummet this 12 months. However there’s extra.
Practically half of the individuals who selected to remain within the UK have been solely given pre-settled status. Because of this they’re not entitled to advantages in the event that they cease working for any purpose, be it job loss, furlough, maternity depart, or sick well being. That’s 1,614,600 people who find themselves job-dependent.
As for brand spanking new arrivals, EU nationals are now not free to enter the UK to work, research, or put down roots. They need to now apply for a visa and fulfill the – you guessed it – points-based immigration system. In any other case, they’ll be topic to the ‘Hostile Environment’ coverage.
