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Relief for UK tourism as government looks at scrapping £30K earnings threshold for migrants
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."
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Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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