The Government is believed to be ready to scrap the proposed minimum earnings threshold of £30,000 for migrants, bringing some relief to the UK tourism industry.
It’s thought that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is going to introduce an Australian-style points-based immigration system linked to skills rather than salaries instead.
The intention is to significantly reduce unskilled immigration from January 2021, but the UK tourism industry has argued that introducing a minimum earnings threshold would create a staff shortage for businesses including hotels, which employ thousands of EU workers in roles that pay less than £30K.
A typical salary in the hospitality industry is typically only around £23,000, according to a survey carried out by Canterbury Christ Church University. It also found that nearly a third of UK tourism businesses source more than half their workers from other countries in the EU and 80% of UK tour operators and destination management companies reported a shortage of home-grown talent with foreign language skills.
According to a report in the Express, a PM spokesperson said the Migration Advisory Committee ha been asked ‘to do a separate piece of work on the £30,000 minimum earnings threshold’. He added: "I think it is worth pointing out that that obviously reflects the immigration system set out by the former government.
"The Prime Minister is looking at an Australian-style points-based system which is something slightly different."
The MAC will be publishing a report on the matter in the near future, with a government review to be released next week.
"Removing the £30k earnings threshold for migrants post-Brexit shows that the Government has been listening to the concerns of the tourism industry," said UKinbound CEO Joss Croft. "This would be a positive step forward, however we still have a significant and growing skills shortage in the UK, caused not least by low levels of language skills, high employment and a lack of recognition amongst UK nationals of the career opportunities in tourism and hospitality.
"The Government therefore needs to ensure that language skills are recognised as a key skills shortage if it is to introduce an Australian-style immigration system post-Brexit. The Australian system also allows regional variations, which would help address business needs for the UK too."
