At 7pm on Tuesday evening, MPs brashly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s most recent proposal with a majority of 230 votes. 202 MPs supported the proposal, while 432 parliamentarians immediately rejected the deal.
As a result of losing the vote, the UK government have three days to prepare a ‘Plan B’ which will be presented to parliament and will come under MP scrutiny once again –- theconversation.com reports.
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With the imminent, growing uncertainty of Brexit world looming — and nationwide panic continually increasing — it’s becoming clear that staffing is an important issue for organisations to consider in a post-Brexit world.
For HR, this will focus on damage control. Preventing and reducing the threat of staffing deficits, skills shortages, and employee retention, after Britain’s exit from the EU, should be a top priority for HR practioners.
As yet, a concrete ‘deal’ –- outlining the future relationship between the UK and the EU –- has not been reached and Britain’s future is still unclear. Until a final decision has been made, employers are very much in the dark about the future of their businesses.
Whilst trying to grapple with the unknown notions of a post-Brexit world, there are numerous things that HR practitioners should be prioritising when preparing their business models and determining future recruitment strategies. One of those is future staffing dilemmas.
Growing staffing concerns
Paul Holcroft, Associate Director at employment law consultancy, Croner, explains that staffing should remain a key concern for businesses.
He exclusively told HR Grapevine: “With employment numbers high, and numbers of migrants dropping within the UK, businesses may find themselves facing staffing or skills shortages where they are unable to fill roles with skilled, experienced employees.”
And this can have repercussions on businesses in terms of cost, time and productivity in a business. So, what can HR do?
EU Settlement Scheme
One of HR’s responsibilities is to ensure that any of their current employees who are EU nationals are fully covered under the EU Settlement Scheme.
According to Gov.uk, if you’re an EU citizen, both you and your family will be able to apply under the scheme for permanent residence in the UK after June 30 2021. The individual’s application will then be reviewed, and a decision will be made on whether they are granted settled or pre-settled status.
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Applications for the scheme will be fully operative from 30 March 2019 when the UK severs its ties from the EU. While it is solely the individual’s responsibility to apply under the scheme, failure to comply with the mandates of the registration system could cause problems for HR.
Louis MacWilliam, an Immigration Expert at Blacks Solicitors LLP, exclusively told HR Grapevine that any employees failing to register under the scheme by the time that it closes (March 29 2021) will have no lawful basis to remain in the UK.
“Registration under the scheme is strictly the responsibility of the individual affected.”
“However, it can become a problem for the employer if the employee fails to comply with the scheme. Employers found to be employing illegal migrants face sanctions of £15,000 per illegal migrant.”
And with some employees expected to leave the UK imminently, HR are encouraged to tighten their recruitment strategies, to ensure that plummeting overseas staff figures don’t hinder business performance in the future.
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“Whilst it will become far harder to recruit EU nationals, a relaxation of the general immigration rules for migrants will make it easier to recruit from outside the EU,” MacWilliam said. And, to combat potential staffing shortages, the immigration expert urges employers to make greater use of the settled UK workforce.
“Focussing on employee retention, and up-skilling, will be particularly important, but employers may want to consider making greater use of under-represented groups in the labour market,” he added.
Is there a solution for HR?
The primary solution to the problem of retaining EU staff –- and for the future recruits prior to the UK’s separation –- is to get each employee to register under the EU Settlement Scheme. The registration fee is £65 per adult.
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“Although this is entirely optional, some employers have agreed to cover the application fee for affected employees (positive PR as well as helping retain the workforce)” MacWilliam explained.
And this is a strategy that has already been implemented by Carluccio’s. The Express reported that the high street Italian restaurant chain forked out a whopping £100,000 to retain all EU employees after Brexit. Carluccio’s CEO, Mark Jones, said that “it’s what Antonio would have wanted” — referring to the company’s founder who died in 2017.
“There would be no Carluccio’s without one man making the journey from Europe to London. Today we employ over 2,300 people from over 80 countries,” Jones explained.
So, the key takeaway for HR is to consider their employees: this includes their existing workforce, as well as the workforce that they will consider for future recruitment. While not all employers will be able to financially pay for EU Settlement Scheme registration fees, they can turn their attention to their hiring strategies to prevent important talent pools from drying up in a post-Brexit world.
