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It has been over two and half years
since the UK voted to leave the
European Union. Yet, the future of
what the ‘Leave’ vote will actually
entail for our country remains vague
and unsettling. So far, 2019 has
marked moments of intense political
chaos a er Theresa May’s White
Paper failed to secure the support
needed to go ahead with her Brexit
plans. Consequently, the chance of
crashing out of the EU with no deal
continues to creep closer. For UK
industries, including the construction
sector, this is an option they simply
cannot aŠ ord to take.
One of the most significant changes
to occur a er we withdraw from the EU
is the end to free movement. Current
EU prioritisation allows migrants to
cross UK-EU borders to work in the UK
without the need to apply for visas.
Comparatively, a Brexit Britain will see
the requirement of EU workers to apply
for a Tier 2 Visa, being obliged to meet
strict or even unattainable conditions
of salary thresholds before they can
continue or begin their employment
routes in the UK.
Taking the Tier 2 route is only possible
if migrant workers meet the minimum
income threshold of £30,000. For the
construction industry, this comes as
a rigid barrier for many ‘low-skilled’
workers whose salaries will fail to meet
this threshold, despite their fundamental
value within the sector. Furthermore,
with construction workers not being
on the Shortage Occupation List, the
government has little interest in retaining
this talent pool. The irony is, that a er
Brexit, the lack of prioritisation for these
workers will lead to severe occupational
shortages.
A Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
report released last year should have
prompted the government to rethink
their Brexit immigration policies a er
it revealed the importance of EU talent
for several of Britain’s key industries.
Currently, workers from outside the UK
make up 15 per cent of the construction
workforce, working out as more than
one in eight. Half of these are from the
EU. In fact, in certain areas, international
talent is highly concentrated, particularly
in London where 50 per cent of the
workforce is from overseas.
Consolidating the concerns of a huge
EU worker deficit is the Royal Institution
of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), who have
suggested that the UK construction
industry could lose 200,000 EU workers
post-Brexit, equating to approximately
eight per cent of its total workforce As
an industry that contributed £113 billion
to the UK economy (six per cent of the
total) in 2017, huge gaps in the current
EU talent pool will hinder the industry’s
ability to maintain its productivity and
financial success.
Yet, the complexity of the visa process
doesn’t just reside with workers, instead
additionally obliging employers to
go through a series of procedures so
they can o icially ‘sponsor’ and bring
over a migrant worker. To do this,
employers must fill out a Sponsor
Licence application. Once they are a
legally licence sponsor, employers are
able to set up advertisements and o er
jobs to international talent. However,
with a pricey fee and a complicated
procedure, filling a position can be
impeded by lengthy delays and resource
complications for companies and
businesses.
O ering a ‘solution’ to the Brexit
impact on low-skilled workers, Theresa
May’s White Paper sets out plans to
enable migrants to work in the UK on a
temporary 12-month visa – a scheme
which will run until at least 2025. As it is
only temporary, this measure fails to o er
any certainty over the long-term e ects
that the end of free movement will have
on low-skilled workers and may not even
be implemented in the event of a nodeal.
By no means is the temporary visa
attractive: migrants in the UK for one year
do not have any entitlements or rights to
extend their stay, switch visas, bring their
family or seek permanent settlement.
Issues of free movement and tighter
border controls will further disrupt the
construction industry’s reliance on
mobility required by temporary workers
and contractors. Unless a practical deal
is implemented, HGV drivers and other
transport workers will face severe delays
in crossing borders, having a subsequent
negative e ect on the transport of key
building materials.
A no-deal Brexit may also bring severe
setbacks to the UK’s current construction
projects such as the Heathrow Expansion
and HS2. Tighter border regulations
could cause major hold-ups for workers
required to travel from the EU or could
even be a deterrent from working on the
projects at all. Additionally, the European
Investment Bank (EIB) and the European
Investment Fund (EIF) invested £5.98
billion into infrastructure projects in 2015.
Leaving the EU without a deal could see
the end to these vital financial boosts.
What’s more, the uncertainty of trade
in a no-deal scenario only adds to the
concerns of those in the construction
industry. Research by Build UK found
that £10 billion worth of construction
products are imported from the EU
every year. Without a strong UK-EU
relationship, Britain faces losing its
recognition of trading certificates and
instead being subject to a new ‘third
country status’. This could cause major
barriers to the government’s targets of
building 300,000 home every day if the
materials and workforce simply aren’t
there to build them.
Although domestic trade will be a
suitable solution in some cases, there are
materials such as timber which require
overseas exportation to meet the UK’s
demands. A weaker pound will result in
rising costs of imported materials unless
a deal with the EU is hastily agreed.
Brexit is now just around the corner,
making it di icult for industries like the
FM and construction sector to hold onto
any assurance over what the future
brings. Establishing a workable deal and
maintaining a strong relationship with
the EU is imperative if the UK is to retain
its global status. Crashing out of the EU
without a deal and losing the importance
of EU talent cannot be an option.
The Immigration Advice Service is an
organisation of UK Immigration Solicitors
who distribute legal advice on Brexit and
immigration-related matters. https://
iasservices.org.uk/
FREE MOVEMENT Maddie Grounds of the Immigration Advice Service asks how will the Government’s
immigration vision impact the UK construction industry?
MARCH 2019 55
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