Business leaders admit recruitment process could be significantly affected by Brexit

A quarter (25 percent) of businesses currently employ staff from the EU but half (50 percent) of business leaders say they would be put off employing someone from the EU after the immigration laws change a new survey has claimed. A quarter (25 percent) are also concerned the recruitment process will become lengthier, and almost a fifth (19 percent) believe it will become more costly. The study by Blacks Solicitors also found business leaders in the UK don’t feel confident in communicating the forthcoming changes to employees’ rights during Brexit. A quarter (23 percent) revealed they feel underprepared, and a further 61 percent say they are worried about leaving the EU. In addition, over a third (38 percent) said they have limited or no understanding of how the Brexit process will affect their business and the implications for workers’ rights, under new upcoming immigration laws. The study also revealed it’s not only employees from the EU that will be affected, with more than one in ten (11 percent) business leaders saying salaries for all staff are likely to decrease.

Capacity and resource could also become problematic, with more than a quarter (26 percent) saying they are not confident they would be able to replace EU workers with suitable British workers after Brexit.

Louis MacWilliam, Immigration expert at Blacks Solicitors LLP said: “With less than seven months to go until Britain leaves the EU, it is worrying that such large numbers of employers still feel in the dark about their ability to retain and recruit EU nationals. This is in spite of the Home Office publishing concrete details about the new mandatory registration scheme for EU nationals, due to open later this year.

“Businesses rely heavily on EU labour and employers can play an important role in securing the rights of their EU employees. This includes ensuring employees are aware of any eligibility to apply for British citizenship or EU documentation before we leave the EU, as well as the new mandatory system of registration for EU nationals.”