20 COMMENT
requirement would exclude a number of key roles in the construction industry that are in short supply such as labourers, brick- layers and carpenters.
NO CLEAR MIGRANT ROUTE FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED
One key missing piece in the White Paper was any route for self-employed migrants to enter the UK. According to the Migration Advisory Committee, 40 per cent of self- employed EU migrants can be found in just three sectors – construction of buildings, specialised construction activities and services to building and landscapes. For particular trades such as bricklaying, carpentry and joinery, self-employment is the norm. This point was made clear to the Home Office at our recent meeting, and the industry will be working closely with them over the next year to find a solution.
TEMPORARY VISA WILL BE UNAPPEALING One of the surprises in the White Paper was a new ‘temporary worker visa’ that would allow migrants to come to the UK for a 12 month period, and to work in any job or sector, at any skill level. There would be no ability to switch to a skilled visa, and there would be a 12 month cooling off period before they could re-apply to come to the UK. While this may seem like a potential solution to the two concerns
raised above, it is hard to see how such a visa would be attractive to prospective migrants, and how it would benefit employers in the long term. It would be a big improvement if this visa was extended to 24 months to reflect the average length of a project. It should also allow such workers to move to a skilled visa if they reached the skill and salary requirements. These proposals won’t come into force until January 2021, but in the meantime we
must all ensure we encourage our EU nationals who are currently here to stay, by applying for settled status, which is now free of charge.
While industry can and will do its bit in terms of supporting EU nationals to stay, and train up more domestic workers, we hope that the Home Office will listen to the sector’s concerns and understand the impact these proposals could have on the Government’s house building targets.
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