AGR Scotland & the North. Welcome. Pinsent Masons 9 th March 2016

Transcription

1 AGR Scotland & the North Welcome Pinsent Masons 9 th March 2016

2 Agenda 1100 Welcome 1105 AGR Scotland & the North Steering Group update 1120 Work permit/visa presentation 1230 Lunch 1300 Business update/hot topics 1400 Close

3 AGR Scotland & the North update Progress since December 2015 meeting Steering Group formed Simon Pollard (Smart Resourcing Solutions) Gary Anderson (Jacobs UK) Mark Darley (Enterprise Rent-a-Car) Peter Fletcher (Doosans) Andrea Goldie (Standard Life) Hazel McAllister (Strathclyde University) Deborah McCormack (Pinsent Masons) as a network group with a common purpose of promoting early careers opportunities for all in Scotland & the North

4 AGR Scotland & the North update Group page on AGR website Meetings scheduled for 2016 Committed to ensuring hot topics/business updates are included in each agenda Created #AGRScotland for Twitter posts Option for members to invite a guest to attend the meetings

5 AGR Scotland & the North update Your input is important too: Views on meetings being held in the North? What themes/topics would you like to see included in the agenda? AGR Scotland Conference? Recruitment and/or Development 2016? or 2017? Sector Focus Groups?

6 UK business immigration: Are the gates closing? Joanne Hennessy Senior Associate, Pinsent Masons LLP

7 The immigration debate We will reduce the number of people coming to our country with tough new welfare conditions and robust enforcement. We will: keep our ambition of delivering annual net migration in the tens of thousands, not the hundreds of thousands clamp down on illegal immigration. enhance our border security and strengthen the enforcement of immigration rules The Conservative Party Manifesto 2015

8 The points based system: A reminder Non-EEA national route for economic migration to UK Objective scoring system Tier 1 Exceptional talent, entrepreneur, graduate entrepreneur and investors Tier 2 Skilled workers with a job offer Tier 4 Students Tier 5 Temporary workers

9 Recent difficulties Tier 2 (General) cap of 20,700 p/a maintained Cap breached in June & July 2015 Higher paid jobs given priority at expense of graduates No increase to cap expected Two-pronged attack so far: Increasing the cost of employing non-eea nationals More rigorous compliance obligations and enforcement

10 The cost of economic migration Immigration health surcharge introduced April / 200 per year of stay per person (incl. dependants) paid upfront New applications and extensions (over 6 months) Limited exemptions (for now!) Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfers, Australian and New Zealand nationals) Indefinite leave to remain Non-EEA family members of EEA nationals Who pays and when?

11 The cost of economic migration Minimum salary of 35k for Tier 2 (General) ILR applications from 6 April 16 and confirmation of ongoing requirement from employer, current salary and that it will be paid for foreseeable future (no regional variation) Increased visa fees from 18 March 2016

12 Hot off the press Number of arrests for illegal working has doubled over the past 5 years. Around 40 illegal workers a day are being arrested In 2014/15 immigration enforcement issued 1,974 Notification of Liability (NOL) notices for civil penalties to businesses employing illegal workers UK employers have received fines for 30m for employing illegal workers. This is despite the government doubling the fine for employing illegal workers from 10k to 20k in May last year Currently a civil engineering contractor is facing illegal worker fines of up to 400, sponsor licences revoked in last quarter of 2015

13 Compliance & enforcement Complex right to work checks Tier 4 (Student) working hours Extensive sponsor duties Expectations of the Authorising Officer monthly checks Mergers and takeovers The revocation risk

14 Is it working so far? Net migration in year to September 2015 = 323,000 (Office for National Statistics) Second highest level since comparable records began 11% up on the previous year Net migration of EU citizens = 172,000 Slight reduction in non-eu immigration for study (-11%) Narrowing Tier 2 can only make a marginal contribution

15 What s in store? A possible re-focusing of Tier 2 of the Points Based System Increased risk of criminal liability for illegal working An end to EU rights of free movement? A reintroduction of post-study work visas?

16 A re-focusing of Tier 2 Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) commissioned June 15 to advise on changes to Tier 2 to address concerns about the rising number of migrants in that route and reliance on them to fill shortages The aim = increase investment in UK employees and reduce reliance on non-eea nationals The difficulty = balancing with maintaining productivity and UK s ability to compete MAC recommendations published late January 16

17 A re-focusing of Tier 2 Overall recommendation = restrict Tier 2 volumes and focus on more highly skilled migrants through price Key recommendations: 1. Increased salaries 30,000 minimum for Tier 2 (General) and short-term Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfers) (up from 20,800 and 24,800 respectively) 23,000 minimum for new entrants in Tier 2 (General) and graduate trainee Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfers) No regional variation

18 A re-focusing of Tier 2 2. Immigration skills charge 1,000 per year, per worker upfront Exceptions for skills transfer and graduate trainee Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfers) 3. Narrowing Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfers) Qualifying overseas continuous service increased from 12 months to 2 years (kept at 6mths for graduate trainees) More detailed descriptions of why migrant required IHS to be extended to intra-company transfers and allowance practices to be reviewed A new route for third-party contracting

19 A re-focusing of Tier 2 4. Reforming Tier 2 (General) Extend resident labour market test to all in-country switchers and include such individuals in monthly cap 7k weighting for graduate scheme recruits in restricted certificate of sponsorship scoring Partners to be required to submit evidence of efforts being made to address skills shortages Government suggestions not recommended by MAC Limiting Tier 2 (General) to an expanded shortage occupation list Sunsetting shortage occupations Restricting automatic right of dependants to work

20 Immigration Bill 2015: Criminal liability Greater focus on illegal working Illegal working closure notices New criminal offence of illegal working Individual criminal liability for employing an illegal worker Current offence Knowingly employing someone who is disqualified from employment Up to 2 years custodial sentence Unlimited fine Offence under Bill Employing someone you know or have reasonable cause to believe is disqualified from employment Up to 5 years custodial sentence Unlimited fine

21 A potential Brexit EU referendum 23 June 2016 Remaining in the EU Some limits on free movement rights of non-eea national spouses Leaving the EU Uncertainty around free movement (to and from UK) Potential surge in UK permanent residence / citizenship applications

22 Post-study work visas in Scotland Scottish Affairs Committee enquiry and report on impact closure of post-study work scheme in Scotland Findings: 80% drop in non-eea students remaining in UK after graduation Less competitive in global market Loss of pool of skilled workers Migration Advisory Committee review on options But it remains a matter reserved to Westminster

23 Recommended actions Submit sponsorship and visa applications pre-april 16! Budget for increased costs and carefully consider eligibility Increased focus on home-grown talent Prepare for closer scrutiny of applications Make your voice heard (e.g. shortage occupation list) Ensure you are ready for a knock at the door Review your compliance with sponsor reporting and record-keeping Ensure you have robust systems for right to work checks and monitoring/limiting student hours of work

24 Questions?

25 Contact details Joanne Hennessy (Senior Associate)

26 Please reconvene by 1300 Lunch

27 Hot topics/business updates Opportunity to raise and discuss topics for discussion Discuss in Groups for 15 minutes Open discussion to share topics with the wider group

28 Close Thank you for attending today s meeting Thank you Pinsent Masons for their hospitality Next Meeting Wednesday 8 th June 2016 Hosts: Standard Life, Edinburgh