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2021 Valentine's Day Toolkit for card retailers

19 Jan 2021

The Greeting Card Association (GCA) have created a 2021 Valentines Day Toolkit, with the aim of helping retailers promote Valentine's Day in their stores and online.
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Welsh Government introduces Clean Air Bill & report on impact of lockdown on air quality

18 Jan 2021

The Welsh Government has published a white paper setting out its plans for a Clean Air (Wales) Bill, to protect the health of the nation and ecosystems from pollutants in the... Read more…

Insurers pay tens of thousands to small businesses for Covid lockdown losses

15 Jan 2021

Following today's Supreme Court ruling tens of thousands of small businesses will receive insurance payouts covering losses from the first national lockdown.

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Single use carrier bag set to increase in Scotland from 5p to 10p from 1st April 2021

13 Jan 2021

The increase in the SUCB charge will not result in a cost increase for retailers.
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Freedom To Pay campaign promotes the use of cash in stores

13 Jan 2021

Cash is a necessity millions couldn't live without, will you sign the voluntary cash pledge?
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Maybe*'s 10 step plan for social media success in 2021

11 Jan 2021

Maybe* share how they will achieve their 2021 to improve insights using opportunities spotted in their own data

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New digital product discovery platform Buyerdock searches for indie retail volunteers for free trials

6 Jan 2021

Buyerdock, the new online platform to help buyers find exciting new shelf ready products, have now opened the platform to independent retailers.
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How to employ Low Skills workers in post Brexit UK

4 Jan 2021

ActSmart partner Tom Redfern, Founder and Senior Partner at Redfern Legal LLP, investigates ways in which it is still possible to employ a low skills worker who is not a UK national

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Maybe* releases social media data from 2020 that small businesses can use to plan for 2021

31 Dec 2020

Examples of the most succesful social media strategies from 2020 and look into what this data show us about consumer trends for 2021

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How to keep your business running in tougher restrictions

30 Dec 2020

Keeping your business running throughout tougher restrictions will mean adapting current processes, as well as utlising new opportunities.
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How to employ Low Skills workers in post Brexit UK

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

 

ActSmart pabrexitrtner Tom Redfern, Founder and Senior Partner at Redfern Legal LLP, investigates ways in which it is still possible to employ a low skills worker who is not a UK national

Until 31 December 2020 it was possible for an EU national to arrive in the UK to intend to live and work visa free and to do any kind of work. People from the rest of the world need a visa to be able to live and work visa free and then they are limited to the kind of work of work they can do. Till 31 December 2020, it needed to be highly skilled work - RQF6, the equivalent of degree standard.

 From 1 January 2021 it is a brave new visa world. EU nationals arriving, with the exception of the Irish who do not need a visa, are now treated in exactly the same way as the rest of the world. A visa is required and the type of job they can do must be at a skilled level - RQF3, the equivalent of A level standard. There is also the shortage occupation list (SOL). SOL is an official list of occupations deemed important for which there are not enough resident workers to fill vacancies. The key benefit is lower salary thresholds.

Low skills jobs are not eligible for a work visa. Examples of low skill jobs - RFQ1 and 2 - include carers of the elderly, hotel and restaurant staff. None of these are on the SOL because they are not at RFQ3 skill level or above.

Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) in March 2020 to review the SOL in advance of 1 January 2021. The MAC report recommended 70 new job titles be added to the SOL including nursing auxiliaries and assistants; residential, day and domiciliary care managers.

Usually, MAC recommendations are accepted by the Government and introduced into law. Not this time. In a surprise, Ms Patel stated in October 2020 the Government had decided not to immediately accept any of the recommendations contained in the MAC's SOL report. The Home Secretary stated that before changing the SOLs, there should be an assessment of the development and recovery of the UK labour market after the coronavirus crisis and in response to the new Points-Based Immigration System.

So if you want to employ a low skills worker who is not a UK national, how can you do it?

There are the following options:

1 Employ an Irish national

2 Employ the dependent spouse of a migrant sponsored under Tier 2 who is here to fulfil a skilled role

3 Employ an EU national who arrived on or before 31 December 2020 and who has applied or is applying before 30 June 2021 for EU Settlement Scheme

4 Use the Youth Mobility scheme visa. Nationals from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Monaco, San Marino aged between 18 and 30 can come for 2 years.

5 From summer 2021, the new Graduate Visa route will allow international students who have completed a UK degree to stay in the UK for two years after they have completed their studies.

And there is the seasonal worker visa (tier 5) for up to 6 months for farm work.

It does in our opinion seem highly likely that the Government will have to introduce a Low Skills visa eventually. A tier (tier 3) already exists for it, it just hasn't ever been used. King Canute commanded the tide not to wet his feet and we know what happened there - reality.

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