EU freedom of movement ends under UK’s new immigration rules

Controversially, the new rules will exclude thousands of low-pay care workers who traditionally head to Britain to form the backbone of staff looking after the elderly and disabled. Instead the government wants care staff to be recruited from among the British population.

Under the new system Britain’s frontiers will be closed to non-skilled workers, posing fears that Britain’s care system could find it hard to recruit staff.

Currently thousands of low-paid care workers from around the world are employed in homes caring for disabled and elderly people.

• Many Hungarian families consider returning home from UK

All applicants, both EU and non-EU citizens, will need to demonstrate that they have a job offer from an approved sponsor in Britain, that the job offer is at the required skill level, with a minimum salary of 20,480 pounds (about 25,831 U.S. dollars) a year.

Mark Adams, CEO of Community Integrated Care warned there was already a shortage of 122,000 workers in social care in Britain.

It will not be possible to build the workforce capacity the care sector needs by recruiting from within Britain as long as social care remains, largely, a minimum wage sector, Adams said.

In response, a prime minister’s official spokesman said the government wants employers to “invest more in training and development for care workers in this country”.

Speaking to journalists, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain’s new points-based immigration is not about slamming the gates, promising there will be enough recruits for the social care sector.

Source: Xinhua