Last week the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) published the findings of the Commission on Youth Unemployment, chaired by MP David Miliband, which carried out an investigation into UK youth unemployment (focussing on those aged between 16-24), its causes and possible solutions.
The press release accompanying the report highlighted alarming facts unearthed by the Commission, with 1 in 5 young people currently not in employment, education or training and a quarter of a million have been unemployed for over a year. The Commission points out the detrimental effect this is going to have, not only on the lives and well-being of the young people who cannot find financial security, but also on our nation’s economy which is already blighted by recession. Currently, the report states that youth unemployment will cost the public at least £4.8 billion in 2012 and £2.9 billion a year in the future. David Miliband called for immediate action, stating ‘this
As we have noted several times in this blog, for many years now the media have been outspoken in their negative portrayal of immigration and migrant workers in the UK. They constantly harangue the Government for being too ‘soft’ with its immigration policies and release often inaccurate statistics concerning the economic or social effect foreign nationals have had on Britain. One could be forgiven for thinking that there are very few members of the tabloid press who will actually present the case in favour of immigration, and we rarely hear from migrants themselves, other than in one-off articles which are easily missed.
That is why we were very pleased to read that Migrant Voice will be publishing its second free newspaper this week. Migrant Voice is a new and important charity which was established in 2010 as a response to the increasingly detrimental and biased way in which migrants are being represented by the UK’s popular press.
This is an organisation which aims to
We received correspondence this week to inform us that the UK Border Agency is currently reviewing the Codes of Practices (also known as Standard Occupational Classification codes). The Codes are designed to help employers assess whether the vacancy they wish to fill will meet the skill level and appropriate rate of pay to enable them to employ a non-EEA national in the role.
It seems that in May 2012 the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) will initiate a wider review of the Codes of Practice generally, but in the interim period UKBA want to review migrant salary levels of certain specified sectors and occupations within the Codes.
We have been asked for our opinion regarding planned salary increases for Code 2125: Chemical Engineers, before these changes are formally published.
The current salaries are:
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Non Chartered Chemical Engineer £26,500
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Chartered Chemical Engineer £36,000
Proposed salaries are:
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Graduate Posts £28,000
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Non Chartered Chemical Engineer
Last week in Strasbourg the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, delivered an important speech in which he called for reform of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
The UK currently holds the six-month presidency of the Council of Europe. The Council is comprised of government ministers from each of the European Union’s Member States, and plays the principal role in deciding policies in areas where countries have not delegated their powers to the other EU institutions. It cannot propose new legislation, but has the power of setting political guidelines and Cameron clearly intends to use the remaining months of the UK’s presidency to push for changes in the ECtHR.
As we have noted several times in this blog, our Government has faced fierce ongoing criticism from the British media over its immigration policies. Scarcely a week seems to pass without some fresh scandal being announced in the press. The decisions by the ECtHR, and the Human Rights Act itself,
We handle a large number of Indefinite Leave to Remain, or settlement, applications for clients who have spent 5 years legally in the United Kingdom and want to live and work here with no restrictions. A grant of ILR means that the applicant retains their nationality and does not become a British citizen, but he or she will no longer need to apply for visa extensions in order to remain in the UK and continue employment here.
However, we also receive more complicated queries where a marriage or partnership between a British citizen and their non-EEA spouse has dissolved, but the foreign national also wishes to remain in the UK. Do they still have the legal right to remain here, provided they have resided legally in the UK for 5 years, or is that right removed when they are no longer married to the spouse on whom their UK visa was dependent? And what about situations involving an EEA member who has brought a ‘third party’ national (ie, a migrant from a country which is not a
We were pleased to read recently that the Joint Council for Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) successfully represented 2 Filipino care workers in their appeals against settlement refusals handed down by the UK Border Agency.
In 2007, the UK Home Office brought in new regulations governing the pay of non-EEA migrant workers in care homes. In order for non-EEA foreign nationals to be granted a UK work permit, they would now need to secure a position with a minimum hourly wage of £7.02. This caused great consternation at the time, since many care homes stated they could not afford to pay staff at these salary levels. It has always been difficult to find enough UK workers to fill these roles due to the low pay rates and the rules were clearly designed to prioritise European Union residents, encouraging nationals from A-8 countries (who had recently joined the EU) to take up the many vacancies, though this did not ultimately happen.
Currently, there are thousands of non-EEA “senior
A recent BBC article caught our attention due to its very human account of the effects that relocation can have, not just on the assignee but on the accompanying spouse, partner or immediate family. The consequences for a spouse of following their loved one across the world have always been something we are extremely aware of, and we feel that it is worth drawing as much attention as possible to this important issue.
The article gives moving case studies of spouses who struggled with adjusting to a new life far from their family and friends. It is true, however, that relocation is not always a negative experience. It can be a chance to seize new opportunities which were not available in one’s home country. Expatriates often form strong communities within their new countries and can be an invaluable source of support and friendship to one another when learning to adjust to a new life.
Despite this, the fact remains that relocating is often a difficult process and Andrew
An interesting case has come to our attention, which raises serious questions about how immigration cases involving Article 8 issues will be handled in the future.
The case concerned a Bangladeshi student, Abdullah Munawar, who came to study in the UK in 2008. He applied for further leave to remain as a Tier 4 (General) Student in February 2010, but this was refused because he did not have the requisite funds in his account when he made the application. The appeal against the refusal was dismissed in October 2010, but an error of law was found in this decision and the case came before the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and Judge Pitt, who handed down judgment at the end of last year. She allowed the appeal, on the basis that deporting him would be a disproportionate interference with Mr Munawar’s right to respect for his private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
This decision invoked strong comments from media outlets such as
We’d like to welcome our readers back to our first blog of the year! We hope that you all enjoyed the festive season and are having a great start to 2012.
Last year saw great upheavals as the Government made drastic changes to the United Kingdom’s Immigration Rules and Regulations. These changes were designed to reduce the numbers of non-European Union migrants entering the UK to work, study or live. Employers ranging from large multi-national corporations to smaller, medium sized businesses have been hit by the cap which prevents them from sponsoring skilled non-EU workers unless they meet certain strict criteria, and imposes limits on the numbers of such migrants they may hire.
In light of the challenges which companies have faced in recruiting new hires from overseas, we thought it would be apt to reflect on how far the immigration developments of 2011 have affected employers, and look ahead to the coming year.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) called for
We’d like to wish all our readers a very happy Christmas and wonderful New Year!
Thank you for all your comments and feedback and we look forward to sharing more news and views with you in 2012!
