20th May 2019
A letter from the home secretary to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), which urges the government to drop the £30,000 salary threshold for migrants to work in the UK, has been described as “positive and pragmatic”.
Instead of the threshold, the MAC suggests companies pay the “going rate”.
UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “Such a recommendation would be positive and pragmatic while demonstrating the home secretary has been listening to our concerns about the £30,000 minimum salary threshold. Such a threshold would make many crucial, hard-to-fill roles in hospitality unavailable to EU workers. Any future migration policy must focus on the needs and fortunes of the wider economy rather than individuals. Hospitality is a key economic driver but to keep growing we will need to employ non-British workers in many different roles. It’s vital we also have a separate route for semi-skilled workers.”