UK ‘may struggle to fill less attractive vacancies’

BRITAIN MAY struggle to attract EU workers into less palatable jobs after Brexit while migrants may be more at risk of exploitation under potential future migration routes, a report has warned.

Experts said the two “main options” for providing low-skilled migrant labour in the UK if free movement comes to an end are likely to bring “significant costs” as well as benefits.

Last year, around 500,000 people born in EU countries were employed in low-wage jobs such as cleaning, waiting tables, warehousing and food processing, according to Oxford University’s Migration Observatory.

The paper identifies youth mobility and low-skilled work permit schemes as the two most likely models for labour migration.

Under an existing youth mobility route, non-EU citizens aged 18 to 30 from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and Monaco can live and work in the UK for up to two years.

Considering the possibility of extending the scheme to EU nationals, the report says that although it has some “conceptual similarities” with free movement, in reality it is very different.

Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory, said: “There’s no guarantee that youth mobility can provide staff for unpalatable roles in out-ofthe-way places. That’s because the scheme gives workers lots of options, and people with options often prefer to work in shops and bars rather than muddy fields or food processing plants.”

Work-permits operate “very differently”, requiring employer sponsorship and linking workers to specific jobs, the report says.