Plans to increase salary thresholds for workers from overseas opposed by BASW

Plan fails to recognise the importance and contribution of overseas workers

This week, the UK Government announced that they would introduce new policies to ‘deliver the biggest ever cut in net migration’. 

We firmly oppose the Government’s plans. It fails to recognise the significant importance and contribution of overseas workers in filling the many vacant roles in our health and social care services, whilst also denying those same workers the opportunity to be with their families. 

The Home Secretary James Cleverly announced a 5-point plan, which will:

  1. Stop overseas care workers bringing family dependants and require care firms in England to be registered with the Care Quality Commission to sponsor visas.
  2. Increase the earnings threshold by a third to £38,700 from next Spring for those using the skilled worker route, in line with the median full-time wage for these kinds of jobs.
  3. Scrap cut-price shortage labour from overseas, by ending the 20 per cent going rate salary discount for shortage occupations and reforming the Shortage Occupation List.
  4. Double the minimum income for family visas to £38,700 - the same threshold as the minimum salary threshold for skilled workers.
  5. Tighten the rules on students bringing family members to the UK. 

This announcement has been met with significant opposition because it would deter skilled workers from coming to the UK. In particular this would have a detrimental impact on staffing levels across health and social care. It would also prevent those who do work in the UK from being with their families which could affect their right to family life, and impact on their wellbeing and happiness. This also furthers the risk of exploitation and abuse of skilled migrant workers. 

Some of the details of implementation remain unclear, for example whether those social workers who earn more than the proposed salary threshold would be able to apply to bring their dependents into the UK. Other social workers would fall below the proposed salary threshold, potentially rendering them unable to take up roles in the UK at a time when many social work posts remain unfilled. 

The proposals are due to come into force from April 2024, causing distress at their introduction at relatively short notice and will doubtless cause many to reconsider their plans for the future.

It appears that the Government is trying to bring down immigration statistics with no consideration of the people this effects, nor the impact on vital services that are reliant on overseas workers which so many people depend on.