News

Sep 24, 2020 - What is the legal status of EU citizens during the post-Brexit “grace period”?

As we’re constantly being reminded, free movement will come to an end this year. From 1 January 2021, EU/EEA/Swiss citizens who wish to move to the UK to work and study will have to meet the requirements of the new points-based immigration system. Existing residents have until 30 June 2021 to apply for settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

But what of the EU/EEA/Swiss citizens and their family members who already live in the UK (or move here before 1 January), and who only make their Settlement Scheme application in the first six months of 2021? To allow for this six-mo...

Sep 23, 2020 - British government announces new emergency jobs scheme

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has outlined new measures to protect millions of jobs to support the economy in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.

The Job Support Scheme which will replace the furlough scheme when it ends, will directly top up the wages of employees working fewer hours due to suppressed business demand, enabling workers to keep their jobs on shorter hours rather than being made redundant. It will run for six months from November.

Employees must work at least one-third of their normal hours and be paid for that work as normal, but the government will increase wages covering the remaining ...

Sep 23, 2020 - Coronavirus: Autumn Budget to be scrapped this year

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has postponed his November Budget until next year amid the financial turmoil created by the pandemic, but today will announce how a replacement for the furlough scheme will form part of a new economic rescue package.

Rishi Sunak is expected to announce a wage subsidy scheme for people only able to work part-time, along with an extension to four different lending schemes. These should help keep credit flowing to businesses hit by the fallout from the virus, while companies could be given more time to pay VAT and other tax bills.

Typically, the government outlines the ...

Sep 23, 2020 - The end of the Tier 2 cooling-off period is on the horizon

Whilst we are all awaiting new Immigration Rules for the Skilled Worker route, which will replace Tier 2 (General) in the new Points-Based Immigration System, some good news is starting to emerge. The cooling-off period, which has seen many a skilled migrant having to spend a year outside the UK before they can return to work, will not be carried over to the new Skilled Worker route.

The Home Office has been actively engaging with stakeholders in recent weeks to explain some of the finer details of the system.

The cooling-off period rule has created havoc for vast numbers of skilled migrants, ...

Sep 23, 2020 - Immigration Health Surcharge increase to £624 delayed

The Immigration Health Surcharge will no longer increase from £400 to £624 on 1 October 2020 as originally planned.

The draft order setting a 1 October date for the increase has been replaced by a new draft order which still hikes up the surcharge but only comes into force 21 days after it is made into law. Since it hasn’t yet been made, it cannot come into force on the 1st.

The new version of the order is almost in place, though: it has been approved by the House of Commons (on 22 September) and the House of Lords (on 23 September). That means all it needs is a minister’s signature to become ...

Sep 23, 2020 - EU deportation protections continue after Brexit

From next year there will be two categories of EEA national:

  1. Those who began their residence in the UK before 31 December 2020; and
  2. Those who began their residence in the UK after 31 December 2020.

The law a person is subject to will depend on which category they fall into. Family members of EEA nationals will be similarly categorised. They get all the same rights as the EEA citizen, even if they are a national of a non-EEA country.

The EU law rules on deportation will continue to apply to EEA nationals and their family members who fall within the first category. For those in the sec...

Sep 21, 2020 - Rising virus rates threaten economy, warns Bank of England

The Bank of England has warned that the rising rate of coronavirus infections and a lack of clarity over the UK's future trade relationship with the EU could threaten the economic recovery.

The UK is still in a deep recession, while Covid-19 infections are at their highest level since mid-May.

Citing the uncertainty, the Bank held interest rates at 0.1%, a historic low. It added that it would continue its monetary support for the economy but stopped short of increasing its bond-buying programme or reducing interest rates further.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which sets interest rate po...

Sep 21, 2020 - Bank of England has called for the government to "stop and rethink" the furlough scheme.

The Governor of the Bank of England is calling for a review of the Job Retention Scheme, amid new coronavirus measures that could be in place for six months.

Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, told a British Chambers of Commerce webinar on Tuesday 22 September that the Government’s furlough scheme will need a rethink before it ends at the end of October.

There are fears unemployment could spike when the furlough scheme ends, as firms struggle to retain workers.

He said Chancellor Rishi Sunak faces a difficult decision over the scheme and hinted that it may need to become secto...

Sep 20, 2020 - EU Settlement Scheme “still unknown to many migrants”

Many eastern European migrant workers don’t know that the EU Settlement Scheme exists, new research suggests.

A survey of EU citizens in Cambridgeshire by the Social Market Foundation think tank found that barely half were aware of the Settlement Scheme.

The report concludes that “the EU Settlement Scheme is still unknown to many migrants, and poorly understood by users”.

The findings come from interviews in early 2020 with 90 migrant workers in the Cambridgeshire fens. Most were Lithuanian, Romanian or Bulgarian. Almost all worked in jobs considered “lower-skilled”.

The Home Office is yet to ...

Sep 20, 2020 - UK businesses voluntarily return £215m in furlough cash

UK firms have voluntarily returned more than £215m to the government in furlough scheme payments they did not need or took in error.

Data released by HM Revenue and Customs shows that 80,433 companies have sent back £215,756,121 as of 15 September, according to a Freedom of Information request sent by PA Media.

Some employers returned money sent to them, while others asked for smaller payments in subsequent rounds of funding.

A total of £35.4bn has been paid out as part of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).  HMRC officials believe £3.5bn may have been paid out in error or to fraudste...

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