News and analysis HR news briefing
The HR news briefing:
Government extends visas for international graduates
What you should know:
The government has
announced that international
graduates will be able to stay
in the UK for two years after
completing their studies,
ending one of former prime
minister Theresa May’s most
controversial policies.
Previously graduates from
outside of the UK were only
allowed to stay in the country
for four months. The new rules
will come into effect for
undergraduates starting their
degrees in 2020.
The news was broadly
welcomed by employers as the
UK faces continuing uncertainty
over the outcome of Brexit.
Yuichi Sekine, UK head
of business immigration at
Bird & Bird, said this was a
positive development: “I remain
cautiously optimistic as we have
seen a U-turn on the position of
the home secretary on the end
of freedom of movement
immediately after 31 October
2019 in a no-deal exit.
“This is great news for
students and employers alike.
The proposed changes are in
line with the government’s
focus on global Britain, and is a
welcome addition to the
recently-announced Tier 1
global talent visa for STEMdegree
students,” he added.
“We await further details from
the home office on how it will
implement the announced
changes in practice.”
What you should do:
There are still some details
about international
graduates that HR
professionals must research
and communicate with
their staff to ensure new hires
have the right to stay and
work, said Karendeep Kaur,
senior immigration consultant
at Migrate UK.
“We think this is a positive
move for employers to counter
the loss of European Economic
Area students who can work in
the UK,” she told HR magazine.
“The only potential downfall
that HR would need to
consider is whether
their student may not be
eligible to remain beyond two
years because of skills or pay
levels... Which could mean
investing time into someone
only to then lose them because
they don’t qualify.”
Labour announces plans to extend workers’ rights
What you should know:
At the TUC’s 2019 conference
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
pledged to create a Ministry for
Employment Rights should he
get into government. A
Workers’ Protection Agency
would be embedded within
this which would enforce
rights, set standards and
protections at work, and introduce sectoral
collective bargaining with industry-wide standards.
Corbyn said Labour would also ban zero-hours
contracts and unpaid internships, and end the
‘Swedish derogation’ that permits employers to
pay agency workers less than permanent staff.
Neil Tonks, legislation manager at MHR, said:
“Regardless of whether people are employed
on permanent, temporary or zero-hours
contracts, all employees are entitled to the same
statutory rights.
“The government must clamp down on
unscrupulous employers that are violating the law
by denying their employees
basic rights, and provide
better education to the UK
workforce on the importance
of receiving and
understanding their
employment entitlements.”
What you should do:
Kate Palmer, associate director
of Peninsula, warned that employers would find it
difficult to defend themselves if such matters
came to an employment tribunal. “The rules
around holiday entitlement and pay can be
challenging to interpret for smaller businesses.
However, tribunals have shown little compassion
to small employers in cases such as this,” she said.
Palmer went on to discuss the updated rules
surrounding payslips: “Since 6 April 2019 the
right to receive a payslip has been extended to
include all workers, including agency and zerohours.
Failing to provide payslips will leave
employers open to claims of unnotified deductions.”
Top 5
most read
HR Most Influential
mjj
1
2019 results
Our top 40
practitioners, top
30 thinkers,
and more
revealed
bit.ly/
HRMI2019results
2
Creating a culture
fit to last at Hilton
To stand the test of
time you have to
look beyond profit
bit.ly/
HRcultureHilton
3
Contractors
accused of
working outside
IR35
HMRC sending
“aggressive” letters
shows HR must
be involved in
tax issues
bit.ly/HRGSKIR35
4
Rethinking talent
in technological
disruption
When your business
model is at risk of
being disrupted
you don’t have
years to reconstruct
bit.ly/HRtalenttech
5
Online tool to
help manage
workplace stress
This tool was
developed to
accurately
measure the
attitudes of staff
towards stress
bit.ly/HRstresstool
6 HR October 2019 hrmagazine.co.uk
All photography: AdobeStock
Photography: Paul New
/hrmagazine.co.uk