Britain has unveiled a new points-based system to manage the recruitment of migrant workers which looks set to block many low-skilled foreign workers from working in the UK.

8 March 2006

AMSTERDAM - Britain is introducing a new points-based system to manage the recruitment of migrant workers.

The new system, through setting the criteria under which nationals of countries outside the European Union and European Economic Area will apply to come to or remain in the UK to work, train or study, will block many low-skilled foreign workers from working in the country.

However, many skilled foreign workers, who can fill gaps in the UK labour market, will benefit from the procedure.

"Migration is of enormous benefit to a country, when it is managed properly," British Home Secretary Charles Clarke said when he unveiled the new system yesterday,  "I believe this new points-based system will allow us both to manage migration and secure our borders against those who want to abuse them."

Five-tier framework

The new procedure has a five-tier framework which only allows people in the first category to seek work in Britain without an invitation from a sponsor.

Tier 1: Highly skilled individuals to contribute to growth and productivity such as doctors and scientists. People in this category will be able to come to Britain to seek work without an invitation from a prospective employer.

Tier 2: Skilled workers with a job offer to fill gaps in UK labour force.

Tier 3: Limited numbers of low skilled workers needed to fill specific temporary labour shortages

Tier 4: Students

Tier 5: Youth mobility and temporary workers: people allowed to work in the UK for a limited period of time to satisfy primarily non-economic objectives such as performers and sports men and women.

Applicants falling into tiers 2-5 will need to provide a certificate of sponsorship from an approved sponsor when making their application as evidence that they are able to do the particular job or course of study they are applying for.

The points-based system is a central part of the Government's five year strategy for asylum and immigration, which was published in February 2005.

 Companies fear bureaucratic barriers

UK-based Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development sees the new system as a major step toward meeting the needs of UK employers while also ensuring migration works for society as a whole.

But in the absence of key detail on the new plan the jury is out on how effective it will be in practice.

"Although the new streamlined system is expected to reduce the burden of cost and red tape on employers, the Home Office openly admits that it is not yet in a position to provide precise quantitative estimates of the costs and benefits," said John Philpott, Chief Economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

As such, yesterday's announcement "may do little to assuage the fears of nearly 40 percent of employers surveyed recently by the CIPD who said they thought the points-based system would prove a bureaucratic barrier to the active recruitment of migrant workers from outside the EU," said Philpott.

CIPD research shows that employers often base their decision to recruit from abroad on the need to find skills and experience they cannot find on the UK jobs market, rather than for cost-cutting reasons.

The British government will phase out migration schemes that have allowed employers such as hoteliers and farmers to recruit low-skilled workers from outside the UK. British employers will still be able to bring in migrant workers from eastern Europe who can legally work in Britain.

EU accession countries - such as Poland, which is not covered by the points system - are currently the most popular source of migrant labour reports the CIPD. However, over 20 percent of employers surveyed indicate they are looking beyond the borders of the EU when they recruit migrant labour.

The new system is not expected to be in place until, at the earliest, mid-2007.

For more detailed information on how the system will operate, read the Home Office paper A Points-Based System: Making Migration Work for Britain

[Copyright Expatica 2006]