UK relaxes immigration rules for construction workers as Brexit labour shortages bite

The government has been forced to relax immigration rules for construction workers after it was warned that new Brexit red tape is causing labour shortages on building sites.

Bricklayers, roofers, carpenters and plasterers are among occupations who will again find it easier to come and work in Britain after the Home Office added the trades to its “shortage occupation list”.

The government’s Migration Advisory Committee said in March that the “decision to leave the EU with the consequent ending of freedom of movement”, as well as Covid-19, had had “significant effects” on the industry.

Despite a push to train more domestic workers and attempts to improve recruitment and retention to fill vacancies, the construction sector was still suffering from “shortages which do not show signs of abating”, the committee said.

But under the latest change confirmed by the Home Office on Monday, businesses will now be able to recruit from abroad without having to meet such stringent sponsorship requirements.

Construction industry groups welcomed the change but said there were deeper problems that needed addressing to permanently close the labour shortfall and fill vacancies.

Opposition parties, meanwhile, accused the government of “tinkering” with a “bureaucratic” system.

The number of vacancies in the construction sector was 65 per cent higher in the three months to January 2023 compared to immediately before the pandemic in March 2020, the Migration Advisory Committee said.

Figures published separately by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies show there was a sharp climb in construction job vacancies at the end of last year, with 21,367 as of December 2022.

These numbers represented a 121 per cent rise compared with the previous month and a 199 per cent increase on December 2021.

“It is vital that construction is able to fill vacancies and quickly address shortages around particular roles, so we welcome the news that five occupations will be added to the Shortage Occupations List which will help the industry continue to deliver the schools, homes, hospitals and infrastructure that we need,” said Suzannah Nichol MBE, chief executive of industry body Build UK.

Rico Wojtulewicz, head of housing and planning policy at the National Federation of Builders, also welcomed the change but said long-term reform to planning and procurement was needed if UK companies were ever to be able to train their own workers.

“It’s great that the government is listening to the industry’s long campaign to add these desperately needed roles to the SOL. Foreign workers remain vital to make up for a shortfall in the UK construction workforce,” he told The Independent.

“However, that shortfall is worth exploring because while the government is correct in wanting to train British people, it cannot achieve that in any great number if the planning and procurement process remains broken.

“This is because SMEs train 7 in 10 construction apprentices and make up 90 per cent of training capacity, but as they cannot establish pipelines of work and struggle with a delay-ridden planning system, they ultimately cannot afford to train or retain enough staff as directly employed labour.”

Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “We need an economic migration system that works for the British economy, while treating everyone with dignity and respect.

“Tinkering with the edges of the shortage occupations list just papers over the cracks of the Conservatives’ awful system. Their rules are bureaucratic, arbitrary, and don’t allow employers to recruit the workers they need.

“Instead of stopgap changes, the home secretary should finally create a flexible, merit-based immigration system that works for our country and economy.”

Labour branded the government’s approach to immigration “chaotic” and said it had “led to endemic skills shortages and a 95 per cent increase in work visas”.

The shortage occupation list includes dozens of trades and professions ranging from civil engineers to ballet dancers and social care workers to archeologists.

The government said in March it would bring forward the changes for construction workers, which are now taking effect. It however resisted including hospitality workers in the changes.

Being included on the list relaxes the conditions to obtain a skilled worker visa, which usually requires a job to hit the “going rate” salary threshold for that occupation in the UK. Workers on the shortage list generally only need to be paid 80 per cent of the going rate.