Yesterday, the Labour government released its latest immigration whitepaper, announcing new requirements for the UK’s Skilled Worker visa.
The new rules aim to impose tougher requirements for immigrants looking to work in the country under the visa in order to bring down overall net migration.
But while these changes could encourage greater investment in local talent, they will likely harm recruitment in the hospitality industry, where international hires have become a crucial element in addressing the sector’s skills shortage and keeping venues afloat.
What’s in the Government’s new immigration whitepaper?
Last year, the previous Tory government raised the skilled worker salary threshold for migrant workers to £38,700 per year, up from £26,200, to combat net migration.
The Government’s immigration whitepaper goes one step further. It states that these latest changes have been implemented to address the growing issue of net migration, which reportedly hit a record high of 906,000 in June 2023.
Currently, overseas workers must have a “regulated qualifications framework” (RFQ) to work in the UK, which roughly translates to three A-levels. However, this will be changed to the equivalent of a university degree, meaning far fewer applicants will qualify for the scheme.
English language requirements will also change, as the Government has said it will set out new policies to ensure those coming to the UK have an “appropriate level of English language skills”.
Additionally, there will be new changes for international students. The Government is set to introduce tougher requirements to get visa approval. It’s another blow for hospitality, which relies on young workers working part-time jobs.
How will it hurt hospitality?
Foreign workers have become a pillar for many UK hospitality firms. According to a report by UKHospitality, there were 8,500 hospitality visas issued in 2023, which helped to bring new talent to restaurant businesses across the country.
But with the UK’s current skills gap — which has led to an 83% increase in advertised hospitality vacancies and around 170,000 jobs unfulfilled — tougher restrictions are likely to widen it further, and hinder firms securing international talent.
The issue is already affecting businesses. Last year, curry house businesses called for government assistance following the skilled worker salary threshold increase — which they said had made it harder to hire talent from abroad.
It’s yet another staffing issue for hospitality firms to contend with, after last month’s hiked employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and raised National Minimum Wage made it more expensive for firms to employ staff
How should hospitality firms respond?
Under the new rules, some applicants will still be able to obtain the visa under an RQF3-5 qualification if an industry can prove there is a shortage of domestic workers. But the Government thinks it already has the solution to that for hospitality.
For pubs, bars, and restaurants heavily reliant on international workers, the Government’s proposed fix lies in hiring local talent. Last week, it introduced the Sector-based Work Academy Training Programme (SWAP) to encourage businesses to hire UK-based workers.
Working with firms in 26 regions, SWAP aims to provide 100,000 hospitality work placements to help those on unemployment benefits, to help them gain the skills necessary to work in the industry. Participation is free for employers.
Yet, while this could help fill vacant positions in hospitality, training inexperienced staff takes time. Hospitality is also becoming an increasingly unattractive sector for new talent due to its low-wage status and razor-sharp profit margins (the latter of which have been made worse by April’s various raises to employment costs).
While the Government’s SWAP programme offers a pathway to building a domestic talent pipeline, it’s unlikely to be a quick fix for an industry already stretched thin.
Firms can do their best by rethinking operational models, streamlining processes to reduce reliance on high headcounts, and investing in HR systems that accelerate training.
But ultimately, relying solely on domestic labour to plug hospitality skills gaps will not be a sustainable strategy without broader industry transformation.
