British workers shunning lower-paid jobs are forcing recruiters and their clients to bring staff in from nations such as Poland and Lithuania.

Last week supermarket chain Tesco announced it would be hiring 140 Polish recruits to drive lorries and work in distribution centres in the UK.

And Nick Warner, manager of London-based recruitment agency Good People Recruitment, reported that his firm had been forced to recruit Polish staff to pack boxes because UK workers believed they could earn more on benefits.

Mark Boleat, chairman of the Association of Labour Providers, which represents agencies that supply box-packers, fruitpickers and similar staff, said that around 70% of his members’ staff came from outside the UK. “There are a lot of low-paid jobs that need to be done but people in the UK don’t want or need to do them,” he told Recruiter. “Given the difference between earning £5 an hour and earning nothing, many Britons would take nothing because their living circumstances allow them to.”

Eastern European workers, on the other hand, are happy to work in the UK since pay rates compare favourably with salaries at home. The minimum wage in Poland is 849 Zloty a month, which works out at around £120, compared with around £4.95 an hour in the UK.

John Callagher, a director at Ireland-based recruiter Grafton, said UK firms would continue to recruit from eastern Europe.

“We foresee our client demands still being serviced from Poland, central eastern European countries and the EU overall unless we can supply UK labour and relevant skill sets,” said Callagher.

Eight eastern European nations joined the European Union last May, opening up a huge pool of available labour to recruiters and their clients in the UK.