HR Articles

One of London’s top curry houses, Tayyabs, has re-opened following a 48 hour shutdown by immigration enforcement officers for allegedly employing illegal workers. Family owned Punjabi restaurant Tayyabs closed on Tuesday following an immigration raid which found some of its 40 employees did not have the correct permission to work in the UK.

This afternoon, the Home Office confirmed that Shane Ridge, the Lancashire born joiner, is indeed a British citizen and they had incorrectly refused his application for Right of Abode. Shane Ridge’s case made headlines this week when it was discovered that despite being born in the UK and spending his entire life here, he was required to leave or face a £5,000 fine or prison sentence.

This week, the Food & Drink Federation (FDF) warned that over a third of its members businesses would become unviable without access to EU labour, as 47% of EU workers consider moving away from permanent and seasonal roles.

This week, the Home Office published new guidance for employers setting out the right to work checks required to establish or retain a statutory excuse.

Last month, the Government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), with the purpose of conducting a study about and advising upon the economic and social impacts of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. Following the Home Secretary's commissioning letter last week, the MAC has released a Call of Evidence, from anyone with relevant knowledge, expertise or experience to aid the MAC response.

Dutch PM Mark Rutte, this week confirmed that Dutch nationals in the UK who are considering securing British citizenship in order to avoid complication after Brexit, will be stripped of their Netherlands passports due to existing limits on dual nationality. This means in effect, that 100,000 Dutch nationals living in the UK face an uncertain future after March 2019.

A few years ago, the UK’s rules for visitors were revamped and saw changes which simplified the lives of many people who are frequent visitors to the UK for leisure and business. Prior to April 2015, visitor rules were restrictive and it was commonplace for bona fide business visitors to be inadvertently in breach of the immigration rules. The current visit visa system allows business people to carry out a wider range of activities under broader categories.

This week, the government published its policy paper for managing the immigration status of EU nationals in the UK after Brexit. The policy paper is still to be negotiated with the EU but it confirms that once the UK has officially withdrawn from the EU (which could happen at any point on or before 29 March 2019), existing residence documents such as those certifying permanent residence, would be invalid. Instead, all EU nationals and their family members would need to apply for new residence documents.

Research commissioned by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has today revealed that a third of construction firms employ overseas workers

The recent Conservative manifesto has included a pledge to upsurge the Immigration Skills Charge, from £1,000 to £2,000 per year per employee by the end of the Parliament. Stated within their manifesto “skilled immigration should not be a way for government or business to avoid their obligations to improve the skills of the British workforce”.