Employers Looking into Emigrant Workers May Need to Provide Healthcare

It now seems that employers who are looking to bring in emigrant workers to the UK may have to provide private health care insurance for them. This news comes under new government proposals. This has put a few companies on edge about the new rules.

The UK government has said it will bring new emigration down to the tens of thousands rather than the hundreds of thousands. However, there are only so many things that the government can do to restrict emigration. After all, the government can only restrict emigrants that come from outside the European Union. The UK cannot restrict emigrants that are coming in from the European Union.

However, it may seem that the government has come up with a new way to help restrict companies from wanting to bring over emigrant workers. This will be done by making companies buy private healthcare for staff they bring from overseas. This will help to avoid placing an extra burden on the NHS. Employers may also be required to set up apprenticeship schemes to prove they are working to up the skill of British workers.

The official cap on emigrant workers will put into effect in April 2011. However, there is a temporary, or smaller cap, that will come into effect as of July 19^th. This is to prevent an early rush of applications. The government's Migration Advisory Committee is to begin consulting with businesses to decide the level of the worker cap. Business leaders have already voiced their concerns that the cap will hinder recruitment.

The director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, David Frost, said that, if restrictions on the entry of highly skilled non-European Union emigrants are too strict, there could be some damage to the economy and the future of economic growth. It is absolutely essential to get the balance just right.