Immigration Cap Could Hit Oil and Gas Industry
Posted by Graeme Smith Media on Sunday, September 05, 2010
Location
Aberdeen
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A leading employment lawyer has warned that changes in immigration law could have a significant detrimental impact on the oil and gas industry.
“Any operation which relies on skilled labour from outside Europe will be affected and the new measures which have been introduced represent a hurdle which may be difficult for many employers to cross, “ said Linda Beedie of Bond Pearce LLP, the only Aberdeen registered member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association.
“Historically the oil and gas industry has faced a major problem with skills shortages and has had to look beyond the EU to source the expertise it requires, particularly in engineering. The social care and health services also look further afield to recruit many doctors and dentists.
“These changes could pose considerable difficulties in these sectors.”
She explained that the Government was implementing its coalition agreement commitment to limit the number of non European migrant workers allowed to enter the UK to live and work.
A permanent immigration quota will be imposed next year and Home Secretary Theresa May has indicated the impact will be to reduce the levels of migration to tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands.
In the meantime temporary measures have been put in place to prevent what May described as “a closing down sale” - a rush of applications ahead of the permanent changes in April next year.
Business leaders have already warned that the restrictions could curtail the UK’s recovery from recession because of the need for foreign works in vital industries.
Ms Beedie says companies will have to plan carefully and seek advice to try to minimise the potential disruption to their businesses which the temporary measures cause.
She said that even before the new measures were imposed there were delays in the process which underwent sweeping changes in 2008 when a new points based system was introduced with two of its five tiers affecting skilled workers.
“It was already difficult to meet the Tier 1 criteria unless you were wealthy or very well educated,” she said. “Now they have not only introduced a monthly quota but they have also raised the bar by increasing the points requirement.
“There were backlogs before and they are simply going to worsen. If the quota is reached in any month all other applications are deferred, even if the applicants meet the requirements. It could delay things by months.
“The UK Border Agency is also placing limits on employers who have a licence to sponsor migrant workers under Tier 2 - which is how many of the skilled engineering and health service workers gain permission – and these are being determined by their previous allocation levels.
“However it has been indicated that some sponsors may receive a zero allocation during the temporary restrictions, although intra company transfers will not be affected.
“These changes are going to exacerbate an already difficult situation and it is vital that companies which require skilled foreign workers plan ahead and take professional advice. They should consider alternative visa routes and look at forthcoming projects in terms of their manpower strategy well in advance.”
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Company News Release