Firms fear loss of EU workers in favour of ‘lazier’ British

Home Office survey finds employers rely on foreign staff as officials try to frame post-brexit migration rules

COMPANIES are worried about the loss of EU migrant labour after Brexit because British workers are lazier and take more time off, a report has found.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) found that workers from Europe were “a high-quality, eager workforce” compared to Britons, leading employers to rely on them instead. EU workers, especially those in low-skilled jobs, are also paid less.

Businesses fear they will not be able to employ staff from the EU after Brexit, forcing them to spend more on less productive British staff, which could drive up prices or force production abroad where it is cheaper.

The report, which will be followed later this year by a set of final recommendations for the Government, also warned that lower migration from the EU would cause the populations of Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and some areas of northern England to stagnate or fall.

It could also affect the ratio of elderly people to young and would “very likely” lead to lower growth, although it is unlikely to hit the productivity rate.

Overall the MAC found that workers from EU states were happier to work longer hours, including evenings and weekends, and were paid four per cent less on average compared with lowskilled UK staff.

Experts said many firms in lowerskilled sectors had built a business model in which the ready availability of migrant labour had played an important and “sometimes vital” role since 2004.

The implications of any new migration system on the firms’ financial future have therefore caused uncertainty, the report found, although it also cast doubt on the argument made by many companies that they employed EU staff because of their work ethic, and not because they are cheaper.

The committee took evidence from more than 400 businesses, industry bodies and Government departments as part of a major inquiry ordered by Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary. Officials are attempting to draw up post-brexit immigration rules that incorporate an end to free movement while avoiding any major damage to the economy.

Publishing an interim update yesterday, Prof Alan Manning, the MAC chairman, said employers in all sectors were “concerned about the prospects of future restrictions on European Economic Area [EEA] migration”.

The report found that: “Many employers expressed the view that EEA migrants are more motivated and flexible than Uk-born workers – this included a greater willingness to work longer and unsociable hours, to welcome overtime, and a consistently strong work ethic.

“In addition, EEA migrants are often better-qualified than the Uk-born for the jobs they do.” The committee confirmed that rates of absenteeism among British workers were higher, “even when accounting for differences in age, industry and occupation”.

It added: “The differentials are largest for medium and lower-skills levels and for new member state migrants [for example Romania]. A new member state migrant in a low-skilled job reports an absenteeism rate 40 per cent lower than that of a Uk-born worker with similar characteristics.”

Some employers do not feel they could improve the supply of Uk-born workers by offering higher wages, according to the assessment. However, the MAC said it “does not think this is credible,” saying: “Individual employers would almost always be able to recruit resident workers if they paid wages sufficiently above the going rate.”

But the study concluded that the vast majority of employers do not deliberately seek to fill vacancies with migrant workers. “They employ EEA migrants when they are the best or, sometimes, the only available candidate,” it said.

Neil Carberry, of the CBI, said: “This report rightly highlights employers’ concerns regarding future access to skills and labour from our largest and closest trading partner.”