Businesses warn government not to scare off talented international workers
GOVERNMENT plans to introduce a wage-based limit on migrants settling in the UK risks damaging Britain’s attractiveness to important workers, business groups have warned.
The Home Office wants new rules, which will only allow non-EU immigrants earning over £35,000 to settle here, and limit the time foreign household staff can stay in the UK.
However, businesses fear the economy will be hit as a result.
“Sometimes the rhetoric is off-putting – the government has to make it clear that it welcomes the best international talent here in the UK,” said Adam Marshall from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
The BCC also fears the plans fail to account for regional wage differences.
Meanwhile the Trades Union Congress worries about the welfare of household staff. Under new proposals to be announced this week, staff would have to stay with the family that employs them regardless of their treatment, or face deportation.