The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has completed a major review of the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) – the list of occupations deemed by the UK government to be in short supply in the UK labour market – presenting its report to the Home Secretary at the beginning of this month.

The MAC recommends abolishing the SOL altogether, which will cause considerable concern among sponsoring employers.

The MAC indicates that the review was conducted on the basis that no employer should be able to pay below the “going rate” to employees regardless of whether there is shortage in their sector, claiming that the going rate helps to protect resident workers from undercutting of wages and reduces the exploitation of migrants.

Those occupations on the SOL allow employers to pay 80% of the going rate and were the list to be removed entirely, most occupations currently on the SOL will be ineligible for sponsorship going forward.

The focus of the MAC report, found here, is those occupations where the going rate is below the binding general salary threshold of £26,200. Many of the occupations they have reviewed have a going rate of around £20,000 to £22,000, which would otherwise render them incapable of recruiting internationally. Setting out their position, the MAC maintains that:

• there are risks to allowing low-wage occupations more “liberal access” which enhances the risk for serious exploitation of migrant workers.
• that low-wage migrants are likely to increase a net fiscal cost for the UK, particularly where the visa route allows dependents – such as the skilled worker route.
• that the route simply does not work for most low-wage employers. The administrative burdens are high and the associated fees mean that the total cost of hiring a migrant through the skilled worker route are well above the thresholds. For many, it will simply be uneconomic to use the route.

As such, the MAC asserts that the SOL does not provide a sensible solution to shortage issues in low-wage sectors. Its preference is for the government to abolish it altogether and recommend that the MAC to be commissioned to examine individual occupations or sectors where labour market issues seem particularly acute (possibly in collaboration with other bodies) focusing on changes to wages, terms and conditions, training and education, and investments in IT which are likely to be a more sustainable response to the current problems.

Should the government reject the proposal to abolish the SOL, the MAC has recommended that eight occupations be added to the SOL without delay and that a further two be added to the Scotland-only SOL.

Recommended UK-wide SOL updates:

• Laboratory technicians (only those with more than three years PQ experience) SOC code 3111
• Pharmaceutical technicians SOC code 3217
• Bricklayers and masons SOC code 5312
• Roofers, roof tilers and slaters SOC code 5313
• Construction and building trade (retrofitters only) SOC code 5319
• Animal care services occupations (racing grooms, stallion handlers, stud grooms, stud hands, stud handlers and work riders)   SOC code 6139
• Care workers and home carers SOC code 6145
• Senior care workers SOC code 6146

Recommended Scotland-only SOL updated:

• Managers and proprietors in forestry, fishing, and related services NB only adding job title of fishing boat masters

SOC code 1213

• Boat and ship builders and repairers SOC code 5236,

The recommendations for the role of the SOL in the immigration system are:

• that the SOL going rate discount should be removed and that all occupations on a national pay scale, alongside those where the going rate exceeds the general threshold, be made ineligible for the SOL. The discount on the £26,200 general threshold would remain.
• that, if granted the right to work, asylum seekers should be able to work in any job – not just in occupations that are on the SOL.
• that the sponsorship rules for the Creative Worker (CW) visa route be updated, with the reference to the SOL being removed and to allow employers to sponsor any occupation that is currently eligible for the SW route without having to perform a labour market test with a minimum salary threshold to the CW visa.
• that the Home Office provides confirmation by the end of January 2024 that they will move to the new SOC2020 occupational code standard and update the salary thresholds in line with SOC2020 in the spring 2024 immigration rule changes. If they do not so, the committee recommends suspending shortage occupation list reviews until this is done.

If the recommendation to abolish the shortage occupation list is not accepted by the government, then the committee intends to carry out its next minor review of the list in spring 2024.

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