EU Temps Needed to Keep Key Industries Going Post-Brexit

British firms could come unstuck in key sectors like food supply if the government does not allow employers to continue to access temporary and seasonal workers from the European Union (EU) after Brexit, says a new report from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC). 

Launching the report, REC chief executive Neil Carberry says:

“With employment at record highs, firms are already struggling to fill vacancies. If we cut off access to EU temps, British firms would be less able to compete with imported goods on our supermarket shelves, a real blow to our economy and a boost for overseas manufacturers.”

The REC recommends that, as part of the exit deal with the EU, eligibility to work in the UK for EU nationals should be linked to individuals having a job – not a permit linked to a permanent job with a single employer. This will allow EU workers to work for different employers on a range of temporary assignments while they are here.

EU nationals make up 7 per cent of the population but account for 14 per cent of the UK’s workforce and in Short-term labour for long-term growth: EU agency workers post-Brexit the REC reports that four out of five (81 per cent) of employers who create temporary or seasonal jobs said they hire EU workers.

Much of this is driven by a shortage of labour in many areas of the UK. 42 per cent of employers said they had not been able to find enough workers to fill all their seasonal or temporary vacancies, a concern echoed by recruiters: approximately a third of recruitment agencies supplying agency workers to each of the warehousing (29%), hospitality (38%), or food and drink (39%) sectors had not been able to meet their clients’ overall demand for staff.

Some sectors are particularly reliant on EU staff. In a survey of member agencies the REC found that:

• Six out of ten (60 per cent) recruiters for the warehousing sector said at least half the temporary staff they supply come from the EU with almost three in ten (28 per cent) saying Europeans make up three quarters or more of their agency workers.

• The majority (56 per cent) of agencies supplying staff into the food & drink supply chain said at least half of the temporary assignments they filled in the past year were staffed with EU workers. Four in ten (39 per cent) reported that three quarters or more of their agency staff were from the EU.

• 52 per cent of recruiters supplying agency workers in the hospitality sector said EU nationals filled at least half of their temporary assignments in the last 12 months. A third (33 per cent) said EU nationals accounted for three quarters or more of their agency workers.

Explaining the REC’s recommendations to government the REC’s chief executive Neil Carberry says:

“Our future immigration system should be based on the contribution people come to make, not an immovable numerical target which isn’t based on evidence of what is needed for prosperity.

“Employers need the government to secure the transition period quickly including an agreement on mobility in the exit deal. Temporary and seasonal roles need to be part of this. The right to work must be attached to the individual coming to work, not dependent on sponsorship by an employer or the promise of a permanent contract. 

“People who take on temporary and seasonal jobs are vital to our economy and help to keep work here that may otherwise be done elsewhere. Ignoring the potential for new jobs and UK competitiveness this creates would be blinkered. The hospitality, warehousing and food and drink sectors rely heavily on EU nationals and if they can’t continue to fill these roles we risk damage to supply chains that will affect all our daily lives.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

1. Short-term labour for long-term growth: EU agency workers post-Brexit is available via the REC website at www.rec.uk.com/Brexit

2. Data and insight in the report is drawn from:

a. A survey of 233 REC member recruitment businesses hosted by YouGov. Fieldwork was undertaken March–May 2018. 

b. ComRes interviewed 600 UK employers/HR decision-makers by telephone in March-May 2018. Data were weighed to be representative of UK adults in employment by region, broad industry sector and public/private split. Within this, ComRes interviewed 219 employers/HR decision makers involved in hiring temporary and seasonal workers in April-May 2018. 

c. Four telephone interviews with senior recruitment professionals, whose recruitment agencies are REC members. 

d. A focus group of seven members of the Food and Drink Federation

3. For more information, contact the REC Press Office on 0207 009 2157/2192 or pressoffice@rec.uk.com. An ISDN line is available for interviews on 0207 021 0584.

4. Jobs transform lives, which is why we are building the best recruitment industry in the world. As the professional body for recruitment we’re determined to make businesses more successful by helping them secure the people they need.  We are absolutely passionate and totally committed in this pursuit for recruiters, employers, and the people they hire.  Find out more about the Recruitment & Employment Confederation at www.rec.uk.com

Short-term labour for long-term growth - EU agency workers post-Brext