United Kingdom: Migration Advisory Committee Review Recommends Abolishing Shortage Occupation List

• SOL purpose and benefit. The SOL is the official list of ‘skilled’ occupations that have been assessed by the MAC to be in shortage and whose shortage is regarded as reasonably addressed through the recruitment of overseas workers. Where an occupation is on the SOL, visa application fees under the UK’s Skilled Worker routes are reduced by 25-35%, and employers also benefit from a lower salary threshold – GBP 20,960 or the market rate for the role, whichever is higher, compared with GBP 26,200 for other applications. Currently, the market rate is reduced by 20% for occupations listed on the SOL.
• MAC’s last review. The MAC’s last review of the SOL was concluded in September 2020, making this the first SOL review since the end of EU-UK free movement and the COVID-19 pandemic.

• MAC primary recommendations. The MAC has recommended abolishing the SOL and contended that, instead, preferential immigration treatment should be determined sector-by-sector. The MAC provided examples of potential approaches, including: the use of the Youth Mobility Schemes could be expanded to address labor shortages (in sectors such as hospitality); preferential access could be provided to the Skilled Worker route; changes could be implemented to wage and working condition requirements; and investments could be increased in training, education and technology.
• Other/alternative recommendations. In the event the government does not agree to abolish the SOL, the MAC recommends that the government should abolish the benefit that allows employers to pay salaries that are below the market rate for occupations on the SOL and reduce the number of occupations currently on the SOL to only eight occupations in the United Kingdom and two occupations in Scotland, as follows:

• Creative Sector.The UK creative sector – which has several roles on the SOL – would face a triple impact if the list were abolished. First and second, as with most other industries, creative sector roles on the SOL would no longer be subject to the lower salary threshold and reduced visa application fees. Third, and more specific to the creative sector, such roles would become subject to the Creative Worker Codes of Practice – which apply to non-SOL creative sector roles and which effectively impose the otherwise suspended resident labour market test (RLMT). In recognition of this consequence, the MAC recommended widening the RLMT exemptions to include creative sector roles.
• Justification. The MAC justified its recommendations by stating that allowing employers to pay salaries that are below the market rate undercuts local labor and creates the risk of exploitation of overseas workers.

If the MAC’s recommendations are adopted, employers who relied on the inclusion of occupations and current benefits of the SOL to employ overseas workers to fill shortages would have to review their assessments.  

MAC’s recommendations are not effective if and until the government formally accepts them. Until then, employers are bound by current immigration rules.

However, it is worth noting that MAC’s recommendations are highly influential and most of its recommendations are typically accepted by the government shortly after they are made. It is crucial that employers engage in strategic planning and explore other immigration pathways offered by the UK’s immigration system.

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