Article 50 triggered: recruiters call on government to provide more certainty

After the formal triggering of Article 50 earlier today, recruiters have urged the government to reduce the uncertainty around the key aspects of the forthcoming negotiations with the EU that they say is already damaging businesses and the economy. Colin Cottell reports

Recruitment trade body the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) responded to the prime minister’s action by calling on government to prioritise a deal which creates “more jobs and prosperity”.

The calls came after a letter signed by Theresa May was delivered to the President of the European Council Donald Tusk in Brussels earlier today. The letter formally informs the EU of the UK’s intention to leave the EU. Triggering Article 50 sets in train a process of negotiation that can last up to two years, although this can be extended if all the remaining 27 EU states agree.

During her statement to the House of Commons earlier today, the PM pledged “to deliver certainty wherever possible so that business, the public sector and everybody else has as much clarity as we can provide as we move through the process”. 

The PM’s pledge came after she had described triggering Article 50 as “an historic moment from which there can be no turning back. Britain is leaving the European Union. We are going to make our own decisions and our own laws. We are going to take control of the things that matter most to us”.

Ben Davies, director and co-owner of Rapid Search & Interim and Firefly Human Capital, told Recruiter: “The government is talking between two and five years [before a final deal is agreed]. This does not help business or the economic climate. We need clarity on the timescales and what is involved in layman’s terms, and what the likely impact could be. We need confirmation that taxes aren’t going to increase over the next couple of years. If we knew corporation tax and VAT weren’t going up, that would give confidence in the market.”

Greg Wood, commercial director at healthcare recruiter Your World Recruitment Group, called on the government to address the uncertainty felt by the 1.5m EU citizens currently working in the UK about their immigration status.

Wood told Recruiter: “The PM’s comment that she ‘seeks to guarantee the rights of EU workers already living in Britain’ as an early priority for the talks ahead were fine”. But he added: “There was no timescale attached. It would be nice to understand what timescale the government was working to.

“There needs to be a statement issued to EU workers currently in the NHS that their future is secure and that needs to be done immediately,” Wood continued.

Wood said there had already been a big decrease in the number of EU nurses registering to work in the UK from 797 per month to an average of 194 in the last few months in 2016, according to Royal College of Nursing figures.

“We need more detail because the NHS is already short of nurses and the number is continuing to decline so they know their future is safe and they feel welcome and valued here in the UK,” he added.

Andrew Welsh, a board member at financial services and professional recruiter Meraki Talent, said businesses needed a degree of predictability about the trading environment. He said in recent years companies have accepted uncertainty as the new normal, but “the heightened level of uncertainty caused by Brexit needs to be addressed as quickly as possible”. He said one effect had been a pause on companies relocating functions to Scotland. Another was a drop in the number of EU citizens coming to the UK to work.
“It is just this uncertainty phase that we need to get though as quickly as possible, but it is not going to be a quick process, I wouldn’t imagine.”

In a prepared statement, REC CEO Kevin Green noted that the UK labour market had “performed well” since the EU referendum. At the same time, “the task of filling vacancies is becoming more difficult”, he said. “EU workers are more likely to fill labour and skills gaps in industries that persistently report unfilled vacancies and skills shortages. We need an immigration system which reflects this reliance on workers from the EU.”

Green went on to point out that the recruitment industry was “on the front line of the UK jobs market. It is vital that government listens to business throughout the negotiations”. He promised that the REC would continue to “work in partnership with government to make sure our members’ voices are heard”.

Also commenting, APSCo operations director Samantha Hurley said: “We welcome the fact that Article 50 has finally been triggered as this marks the beginning of the end of a period of perceived uncertainty for the professional recruitment sector.

“Many of the issues that are likely to arise from Brexit will have either a direct or indirect impact on professional recruitment.  Since June 2016 our members have been asking questions around how the UK’s exit will impact our sector, and now official negotiations are set to begin it is only a matter of time until we will receive answers, which allow businesses to plan accordingly.

“Access to talent is a top consideration. When APSCo surveyed members on notable post-Brexit risks after the referendum, 83% were worried about the availability of candidates post-Brexit. It is critical that recruiters can continue to find the best available talent either from within the UK, the EU or elsewhere. Conversely, it is critical that UK professionals can continue to work throughout the EU.

“It is crucial that any changes to immigration rules after the UK has left the EU take into account the need for professional talent in both the UK and the European Union. APSCo will continue to call for realistic limits on immigration that allow the movement of professionals to the benefit of the whole economy.

“APSCo is a global trade association and many of our members operate across borders. While continued access to candidates is, of course, vital, we must also consider the rights of the recruitment workforce itself. APSCo is concerned that the sharp rhetoric regarding Brexit negotiations could potentially obscure the rights of EU citizens in the UK and British citizens living overseas. It is critical for the recruitment sector that people from the EU working in the UK know where they stand - and soon.” 

 

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