As commissioned by the Government in August 2022, the Migration Advisory Committee (“MAC”) has published its long-awaited report following a major review into the Shortage Occupation List (“SOL"). It’s headline-grabbing recommendations include scrapping the SOL altogether. The reasons given are that it no longer serves the purposes for which it was originally intended.
Background
It helps to remind ourselves what the MAC is, what it examined and what purpose the SOL serves.
The MAC is an independent advisory body. It publishes annual reports on migration data, as well as deeper examinations of particular topics – often commissioned specifically by Government. The phrasing of a commissioning question is particularly important as this sets out the scope of the MAC’s investigation. The Government is not bound to accept recommendations by the MAC, but it often does so, and scrutiny is applied as to the Government response to MAC recommendations and subsequent implementation. This gives an idea of the influence the MAC has on future immigration policy.
On this occasion, the MAC was asked in August 2022 to review the SOL in the context of the post-Brexit and post-COVID-19 pandemic “new” immigration system brought in from December 2020, having then had time to “bed in”. Specifically, the questions the MAC was asked to provide an answer to were which jobs should be included or removed from the SOL, including those based at skill levels RQF6 and RQF3-5, and of the appropriate reduced salary threshold for job types to be eligible for the SOL. A call for evidence was then opened to the public for responses on the same.
What is the SOL?
The SOL is a list of the job types in the UK which are deemed by the MAC to be in short supply of workers from the resident labour force and for which an easier visa route is appropriate in order to recruit from overseas to address that labour shortage. Its purpose is for use within the Skilled Worker sponsorship category of working visas.
There are currently 36 job types on the SOL, including those in human and animal healthcare and social care, engineering, technology, sciences, construction, agriculture and some arts jobs. However, the SOL does not list all the job types which are experiencing a labour shortage across the UK.
Historically, the advantages of needing to sponsor an overseas national for a job which was on the SOL were that the Resident Labour Market Test was not required and the sponsorship was not subject to the annual cap. These requirements were removed in December 2020 with the Government’s “new” immigration system.
There remains the advantage of lower visa application fees which are around 23% less (i.e. £551 for a three year visa instead of £719) and a reduced minimum salary threshold of 20% less than the normal going rate for the job type. The general threshold for sponsorship is also reduced (currently £20,960).
Reasons
The MAC views the benefits now associated with the SOL as “negligible”, contrary to the evidence submitted. It states that the Skilled Worker sponsorship category, with tradable points for salary and unlimited sponsorship of workers permitted, is sufficient to address employers’ recruitment shortages.
The MAC further observes that the SOL has a negative impact by encouraging lower wages and argues this contributes to the exploitation of those in the social care sector where instances of “debt bondage” have been widely reported. The MAC does not consider a job type being in shortage occupation to be a justifiable reason to reduce the salary paid for the job.
Recommendations
The recommendations made by the MAC were:
Replace the SOL with sector and region-specific job types which are eligible for immigration concessions.
Repeats a previous recommendation for regional variations in salary thresholds for sponsored workers.
Update salary thresholds annually to more accurately reflect changing national salaries.
More regular commissions to examine sector or region-specific shortages.
Make better use of the Youth Mobility visa category to fill shortages in particular sectors or roles, with preferential access to the Skilled Worker route.
Greater investment in particular sectors such as technology and education.
If SOL is retained:
Rename it the “Immigration Salary Discount List” – reflecting the MAC’s view of the SOL’s current purpose.
Remove the 20% going rate salary reduction for jobs where the normal going rate is above the general salary threshold for sponsorship.
Remove all national pay scale jobs (i.e., teacher and medical / dental jobs).
Remove all creative sector jobs and also remove the requirement for a Resident Labour Market Test to be done (as in the Creative Worker Codes of Practice) where the job would also be eligible within Skilled Worker and introduce a minimum salary threshold.
Retain care workers and senior care workers, as well as laboratory and pharmaceutical technicians, construction workers (bricklayers, roofers, etc), and some equine jobs.
Allow asylum seekers the ability to work in all jobs, not just those on the SOL, where permission to work has been given during a pending application.
Convert job type classifications from SOC2010 over to SOC2020 to improve data reliability for future reviews.
A further, sector specific, review in 2024 (subject to Government commission) to examine how recruitment demand is met and how a tailored immigration route can be used more effectively. Alternatively, the MAC will conduct its own minor review of the SOL in Spring.
The Future
The MAC’s recommendations seek to reset the mechanism within the sponsorship system which aids business growth through recruitment. It is a bold rewrite which is likely to require more regular reviews and potentially additional calls for evidence from specific sectors. In practice, in order to keep up with sector and regional specific needs, more resource is going to be needed. Remember that each time there is a change to the Immigration Rules, a Statement of Changes must be laid before Parliament and the Rules updated. Will Government have the appetite for even more regular changes?
We await to hear the Government’s response and which recommendations it intends to take forward, if any. For now, the SOL remains as we know it.
This article is not intended to be used as legal advice. Should any of these updates be relevant to you, please seek expert legal advice from a regulated immigration practitioner. You can send us an enquiry to immigration@laytons.com.
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