It is estimated EU nationals make up 104,000 of those working in care in the UK.

This will change from 1 January 2021, as new UK immigration rules came into force. The headline for care sector providers being that the eligibility of EU individuals to work in the UK will no longer be automatic.

Carers are not currently considered “skilled workers” by the new immigration process and so EU workers will not receive preferential access to UK jobs within the care sector.

EU Settled Status

There will be no change in the position for workers from within the EU who have; (i) entered the UK, and (ii) applied for EU Settled Status before 31 December 2020.

There will be a grace period for EU Settled Status applications to be processed, ending on 30 June 2021, after which all EU workers will need to prove they have EU Settled Status. Until then, there is no legal requirement on current employees or new hires to disclose whether they have, or have applied for, EU Settled Status.

From 1 January to 30 June 2021, employers will not have the right to ask employees if they have applied for EU Settled Status, nor force them to do so.

From 1 July 2021, all workers from inside or outside the EU will need to be able to demonstrate either; (i) EU Settled Status, (ii) a pre-existing working visa, or (iii) a new working visa.

Skilled Worker

Where EU workers have entered the UK after 1 January 2021 and do not have Settled Status, they will require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK.

The Skilled Worker visa application is applied to EU and non-EU citizens equally and are only awarded to those people who; (i) have job offers from a Home Office licensed sponsor, (ii) the job offer is at a required skill level (A level or above), and (iii) they speak English to a required standard.

In addition to the three requirements above, applicants will also have to satisfy a salary threshold (currently at £25,600 generally but varies depending on the going rate for specific occupations) If the salary threshold is not met, an applicant may still be eligible for a visa in some circumstances if they have a PhD in a subject relevant to the job, or a job offer in an occupation on the Shortage Occupation List.

Whilst not currently on the Shortage Occupation List, the Migration Advisory Committee has recommended senior care workers and nursing assistants be added. However, most frontline occupations in the sector will be ineligible for the Skilled Worker route and will not be added to the Shortage Occupation List.

Conclusion

It is predicted that, by March 2022, 2.6 million people will be unemployed, and many of them are switching to work in the care sector. Advice to the sector from the Migration Advisory Committee has been to focus on making the frontline jobs more attractive to UK workers as the pool of potential employees increases.

It is unclear how the social care workforce will change in the late part of 2021 and beyond. However, as staff vaccination is completed and the sector begins to digitally mature, operational pressures will ease, whilst investment should increase as private equity identify ample opportunities for growth.

The above article was published in the March/April edition of Care Management Matters.