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2 Jul 2025

MPs have called on Amazon and eBay to tighten controls after e-bikes and chargers flagged as serious fire risks were found for sale on their platforms.

25 Jun 2025

The E-Bike Positive campaign has seen major success in the first half of 2025, with its message reaching nearly 8 million people across the UK through high-profile media coverage and growing...

20 Jun 2025

The House of Commons Business and Trade Committee has asked the ACT, and its parent company Bira, to help them reach out to small business retailers across the country, for their quick input on...

20 Jun 2025

Activate Cycle Academy has reopened its Cytech training facility in Darlington, offering a full range of courses from Home Mechanic up to Cytech Technical Three.
 

18 Jun 2025

The Association of Cycle Traders believes the time has come for greater accountability throughout our supply chain, writes ACT Director Jonathan Harrison in an article published for BikeBiz.

16 Jun 2025

The ACT has welcomed the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking's report "Unregulated and Unsafe: The Threat of Illegal E-Bikes", which calls for urgent Government action to...

11 Jun 2025

A new academic study has found that overzealous pro-cycling campaigners on social media may be inadvertently damaging the case for better cycling infrastructure across the UK.

11 Jun 2025

Bira has welcomed the Welsh Government's consultation on business rate reforms for retail shops, whilst calling for significant improvements to ensure the proposals truly support high street...

10 Jun 2025

Bike thefts across England and Wales have continued their steady decline, according to new data released by cycle insurance specialist Bikmo.

9 Jun 2025

Retailers on Britain's high streets are being encouraged to put themselves forward for the first-ever Love Your High Street Awards, designed to celebrate the small businesses that bring...

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How to employ Low Skills workers in post Brexit UK

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

 

ActSmart pabrexitrtner Tom Redfern, Founder and Senior Partner at Redfern Legal LLP, investigates ways in which it is still possible to employ a low skills worker who is not a UK national

Until 31 December 2020 it was possible for an EU national to arrive in the UK to intend to live and work visa free and to do any kind of work. People from the rest of the world need a visa to be able to live and work visa free and then they are limited to the kind of work of work they can do. Till 31 December 2020, it needed to be highly skilled work - RQF6, the equivalent of degree standard.

 From 1 January 2021 it is a brave new visa world. EU nationals arriving, with the exception of the Irish who do not need a visa, are now treated in exactly the same way as the rest of the world. A visa is required and the type of job they can do must be at a skilled level - RQF3, the equivalent of A level standard. There is also the shortage occupation list (SOL). SOL is an official list of occupations deemed important for which there are not enough resident workers to fill vacancies. The key benefit is lower salary thresholds.

Low skills jobs are not eligible for a work visa. Examples of low skill jobs - RFQ1 and 2 - include carers of the elderly, hotel and restaurant staff. None of these are on the SOL because they are not at RFQ3 skill level or above.

Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) in March 2020 to review the SOL in advance of 1 January 2021. The MAC report recommended 70 new job titles be added to the SOL including nursing auxiliaries and assistants; residential, day and domiciliary care managers.

Usually, MAC recommendations are accepted by the Government and introduced into law. Not this time. In a surprise, Ms Patel stated in October 2020 the Government had decided not to immediately accept any of the recommendations contained in the MAC's SOL report. The Home Secretary stated that before changing the SOLs, there should be an assessment of the development and recovery of the UK labour market after the coronavirus crisis and in response to the new Points-Based Immigration System.

So if you want to employ a low skills worker who is not a UK national, how can you do it?

There are the following options:

1 Employ an Irish national

2 Employ the dependent spouse of a migrant sponsored under Tier 2 who is here to fulfil a skilled role

3 Employ an EU national who arrived on or before 31 December 2020 and who has applied or is applying before 30 June 2021 for EU Settlement Scheme

4 Use the Youth Mobility scheme visa. Nationals from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Monaco, San Marino aged between 18 and 30 can come for 2 years.

5 From summer 2021, the new Graduate Visa route will allow international students who have completed a UK degree to stay in the UK for two years after they have completed their studies.

And there is the seasonal worker visa (tier 5) for up to 6 months for farm work.

It does in our opinion seem highly likely that the Government will have to introduce a Low Skills visa eventually. A tier (tier 3) already exists for it, it just hasn't ever been used. King Canute commanded the tide not to wet his feet and we know what happened there - reality.

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