The UK's planned points-based immigration system, which the British government says will 'fulfil our commitment to the British public and take back control of our borders', will impact retailer, food and beverage supply chains, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said.
The system will also set a skills and salary threshold (set at £25,600, or £20,480 in certain roles) for all immigrants coming into the UK, with a view to attracting highly-skilled workers.
'Complex Supply Chains'
“Retailers rely on complex supply chains and for these to function effectively must be able to access an adequate supply of workers," Tom Ironside, director of business and regulation at the British Retail Consortium commented.
"Although we welcome the reduction in the salary threshold, it is disappointing that the Government has not understood the needs of the economy and the vital contribution of workers supporting the operation of warehouses, food factories and city centre stores."
Talent Pool
The BRC noted that positions along the retail supply chain cannot always fill positions from the local labour market, meaning businesses must be able to recruit from the "widest talent pool available", across a myriad of skill levels.
“We continue to call for a system that enables straight-forward recruitment from a range of skill levels and avoids significant increases to the cost of employment," Ironside said.
Announcing the new immigration system, the UK government said, 'We are ending free movement ,and will introduce an Immigration Bill to bring in a firm and fair points-based system that will attract the high-skilled workers we need to contribute to our economy, our communities and our public services. We intend to create a high wage, high-skill, high productivity economy.'
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
