The Brexit Deal is in the balance, with the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the EU still in a full discussion about the deal for the UK to come out of the European Union. The Brexit process still seems to be in political gridlock, with many falling out of interest in the whole situation. The deal to come out of the EU is still be unsolved from the original referendum result back in June 2016. Whether the final agreement is a hard or soft Brexit deal, the impact on the economy has been speculated by several political and financial experts; just how will Brexit influence the recruitment industry?
Affecting Overseas Workers
The domestic market is expected to remain largely stable over the coming years, COVID-19 has harmed the domestic market, however, we hope to see the market pick up in the coming years when life gets back to normal. Over the past few years, businesses have seen a drop in the number of international candidates seeking jobs in the UK. Britain is highly likely to move away from the EU free movement principle, the move away from this principle will unquestionably have an impact on the talent that is available from the EU. The potential long-term impact that the vote to leave may have is the country’s accessible reputation across the world.
Lets Look at the Positives
Membership of the EU has enabled European skilled and unskilled workers to easily start working in the UK. This has been seen as a positive of being a member of the EU for many UK businesses looking for potential candidates for jobs. One of the strong arguments that the Pro-Brexit campaign had was that we should be prioritising UK workers instead of taking on more foreign labour. The movement of giving British workers advantages in terms of recruitment could prove beneficial as more businesses could provide training courses, increased salaries and enhanced job security. This will make certain jobs that were seen to be less attractive, more appealing.
Over the years businesses in the UK have benefitted from easy access to the range of workers from the EU, however, if we start to lose these workers it means that young people may get some more internal training opportunities which could lead to full-time employment.
How will Brexit Affect Workers Rights?
The current EU legislation on workers rights is due to be transformed into British law, this is so the legislation will be kept the same after the UK leaves the EU. These rights are likely to be changed over time depending on various factors such as the political party that is in power.
At this moment in time, it’s difficult to predict how the UK leaving the EU will impact issues such as the working week, sick pay and maternity leave. However, in the short term, it’s not likely that anything will change. It’s unlikely that the government would want to change these legislations any time soon.
The New Immigration System starting from January 1st 2021
This year the government has released plans for a new points-based immigration system, which will take effect from 1st January 2021, this is when freedom of movement between the UK and the EU finishes. EU nationals make up to 7% of the overall UK workforce and the end of free movement between countries will have a damaging impact on recruiters and businesses who normally rely on EU migrants.
Contact our Recruitment Specialists
Do you have any questions about the impact on the recruitment industry that haven’t been answered in this blog? Get in touch with our team at Pure Staff to see how we can help you by using our contact form or you can give us a call.
