64% OF BUSINESS LEADERS IN BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE UPCOMING IMMIGRATION CHANGES AND HOW THEIR BUSINESS COULD BE AFFECTED

A study by Blacks Solicitors has found that banking and financial services businesses don’t feel confident in communicating the forthcoming changes to employees’ rights during Brexit¹. 64% are worried about leaving the EU and a further 16% revealed they have limited understanding of how the Brexit process will affect their business.

In addition, while four fifths (80%) of businesses believe it is their responsibility to communicate any changes to their employees’ rights, 48% revealed they feel underprepared.

With 84% of businesses currently employing staff from the EU, the research also shows the recruitment process could be significantly affected. Over half (52%) of business leaders say they would be put off employing someone from the EU after immigration laws change. 24% say the recruitment process will become more costly to the business and almost a third (32%) are also concerned that it will be harder to recruit people with the necessary skills.

One fifth (20%) of businesses said they don’t have a dedicated HR function, so unsurprisingly leaders in banking and financial services are unclear when it comes to whose responsibility it is to communicate changes, with 20% saying they don’t think the Home Office is doing enough.

The study also revealed it’s not only employees from the EU that will be affected, with 20% of businesses saying the recruitment process will become lengthier and more time consuming. Capacity and resource could also become problematic, with almost two thirds (64%) unconfident they would be able to replace EU workers with suitable British workers after Brexit.

Louis MacWilliam, Immigration expert at Blacks Solicitors LLP, said: “With less than seven months to go until Britain leaves the EU, it is worrying that such large numbers of employers still feel in the dark about their ability to retain and recruit EU nationals. This is in spite of the Home Office publishing concrete details about the new mandatory registration scheme for EU nationals, due to open later this year.”

“Businesses in this industry rely heavily on EU labour and employers can play an important role in securing the rights of their EU employees. This includes ensuring employees are aware of any eligibility to apply for British citizenship or EU documentation before we leave the EU, as well as the new mandatory system of registration for EU nationals.”