Impact of Brexit on Labour Shortage in the UK and Possible Solutions

This study examines the impact of Brexit on the labour shortage in the UK and possible solutions to fill the workforce gap. The literature review highlights the decline in employment and the challenges faced by the hospitality industry due to the loss of European migrants. The report also provides recommendations such as a trade deal agreement with the EU and addressing the food supply chain.

How the shortage of labour in the UK has been
impacted by Brexit and how this shortage of
workforce gap could be filled

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Main Body..................................................................................................................................3
Literature review....................................................................................................................3
Conclusion and Recommendation..............................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................7

Introduction
Brexit stands for the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union. This was a
year-long procedure that took roughly four years for the United Kingdom to decide to exit
Europe. After 47 years of membership, the United Kingdom became the first country to exit
the European Union. It had been a lengthy and difficult process. Theresa May, the former
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, presented an article 50 withdrawal statement to the
European Union, that was refused by legislature in March 2017 (Caporaso, 2018). Boris
Johnson, who replaced May in December 2019, was able to win a majority in the mandatory
general elections. This enabled the party to pass a measure in parliament and then have it
implemented into law (Floyd, 2019).
This study will address the impact on shortage of labour as a result of the United
Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit). It will outline many such efforts
taken by the government to address the causes of inflation, as well as the government's role in
assisting businesses in achieving success. To deal with the risks in the business environment,
it is critical for an organisation to implement a variety of flexible working practises. The
offered paper will discuss shortage of labour in UK and the government's involvement in
assisting businesses in the United Kingdom.
Main Body
Literature review
According to Michael Cheng, (2021), following the virus outbreak collapse in 2020,
economic growth has risen as treatments have been widely distributed. However, the return
has been limited. Factory closures, divided transportation networks, labour disturbances, and
increasing power prices have all impacted global supply chains. Brexit has made the UK's
experience dealing with these challenges more difficult, since it has dramatically increased
trade, capital, and movement restrictions with its nearest and greatest economic partner.
Employment declined by 466,000 this year ending September 2021, primarily mostly to
younger employees and basic jobs; employment had been growing by 0.9 percent on average
over the previous four years (To solve its labor shortage, the UK food industry is importing
more workers, 2021). `
From the analysis it can be contracted that as soon as the vote result on the United
Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union was announced, attention was drawn to a
variety of sectors, particularly to the labour oriented business that has a crucial role in

processing energy of the respective country. As a result, a major source of concern has been
highlighted in the number of European migrants employed in the hotel industry. Furthermore,
the hotel, restaurant, leisure, and entertainment industries employ more than 400,000
migrants. Furthermore, before to Brexit, EU nationals, many of whom work in the hospitality
industry, were free to enter the United Kingdom without a work permit; however, this is
going to change in the post-Brexit world (Pitt, 2021). Furthermore, the agreement which was
before as well as other categories across residencies suggested that EU nationals will concern
if they will be able to remain or delay their arrivals in the United Kingdom. In addition, the
several industry and the entire British economy, is exposed to the weakening of the currency
following the Brexit vote. In addition, the decreases in the valuation of the currency have
resulted in higher expenses for imported goods. On the other hand, the weakening of the
British currency has prompted a boom of Brexit, with an increase in the number of foreign
tourists looking for a bargain.
According to information published in CIPD, (2022), although early fears about the
impact of Brexit on employment, job growth has remained reasonably strong since the 2016
decision to quit the European Union. Though employment growth has dropped in 2019,
overall labour market remained competitive, with a large number of job openings. As a result,
the number of companies experiencing recruiting issues has risen for many companies. This
is due in part to the fact that the number of EU nationals who have come to work in the UK
has not increased in lockstep with total job growth in recent years. The number of
organisations experiencing hard-to-fill openings jumped from 56 percent. As a result, many
companies are boosting compensation, particularly for critical employees and new hires. For
about 59 percent of private-sector companies raised pay to cope with recruiting challenges.
As a result of the competitive labour market, most workers' earnings appear to be under
pressure to rise. However, it's unclear whether corporate development in capabilities has held
steady over time (Brexit impact on workforce trends, 2022).
The European Union accounts for 44% of British exports, and the European Single
Market is an important economic and commercial passage for British companies (Milbourne
and Coulson, 2021). As a result, abandoning the EU would have a significant impact on firms
operating in the United Kingdom, impacting all sectors of the economy, but particularly those
in the financial industry due to London's prominence. There is no way the UK and the EU
will be able to reach a deal that allows the UK to gain from accessibility to the internal
European market while relieving it of its responsibility to protect individuals' freedom of
movement.

According to a report issued in June by worker web conferencing, over 11% of
employees, or 330, 000 people throughout the United Kingdom's restaurants, bars, hotels, and
catering, were considering leaving the country as a result of Brexit consequences. According
to KPMG's study, European Union nationality was developed among 12.3 percent and 23.7
percent of UK hospitality professionals, respectively. As a result, in order to handle the
impending labour shortage and ensure that various hotels accomplish their ambitious
development goals. Staffing, on the other hand, is critical to the operation's success. As a
result, they needed to recruit qualified employees to establish a home away from home
experience that would be associated with overnight stay concepts in a variety of ways (How
Brexit and the pound are impacting operations and profits at UK hotels, 2020).
(Sevinc and et. al., 2020)
Conclusion and Recommendation
According to the above report, Brexit has a significant influence on the UK economy.
It resulted in higher costs for a variety of vital items, forcing the UK government to
implement numerous policy adjustments in order to deal with inflation. A thorough
examination of labour laws is presented, as well as the many functions of government in
providing essential services such as food and water to the citizens of the United Kingdom.
Finally, it may be accepted that the government has been able to manage working in the
country to a degree by playing diverse roles in boosting domestic commercial operations.
From the provided analysis there are various recommendations that can be provided to
respective issue caused to UK due to Brexit. These recommendations are subjected towards
bringing in effective changes in economy and regulate better course of action when dealing in
complex business environment.
 Trade deal agreement with the EU: The administration is adamant about not
extending the post-Brexit transition period beyond the end of 2020, in order to discuss
the ongoing relationship with the EU. As a result, the timeline for reaching an
agreement with the EU is highly constrained. After the remaining 27 EU nations agree
on instructions for their negotiators, formal discussions are scheduled to begin in
March.
 Food supply: The food and drink sector in the United Kingdom generates £460 billion
in annual revenue and employs over four million people, ranging from farming and
fishing to manufacturing and retail. It accounts for a fifth of all manufacturing in the

UK, making it the sector's largest segment. As a result, there is considerable concern
about what will happen to the difficult process of getting food and drink to customers
once the transition phase is through. A third of the workforce is from outside the UK,
with many coming from Eastern Europe.


References
Books and Journals
Caporaso, J.A., 2018. Europe's triple crisis and the uneven role of institutions: The euro,
refugees and brexit. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 56(6), pp.1345-
1361.
Floyd, D., 2019. How has the presence of an increasingly more global labor market softened
the impact of the financial crisis 2008 for the UK economy?. Strategic
Change, 28(5), pp.321-323.
Milbourne, P. and Coulson, H., 2021. Migrant labour in the UK’s post-Brexit agri-food
system: Ambiguities, contradictions and precarities. Journal of Rural Studies, 86,
pp.430-439.
Pitt, H., 2021. What knowledge is required to grow food? A framework for understanding
horticulture's skills ‘crisis’. Journal of Rural Studies, 85, pp.59-67.
Sevinc, D., Green, A., Bryson, J.R., Collinson, S., Riley, R. and Adderley, S., 2020. Ensuring
skills are available in the right locations: are we there yet? A regional analysis of
qualification gaps. Regional Studies, 54(8), pp.1149-1159.
Online
Brexit impact on workforce trends, 2022. [Online]. Available at:
<https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/brexit-hub/workforce-trends#gref>
How Brexit and the pound are impacting operations and profits at UK hotels, 2020. [Online].
Available through:< https://www.hotelmanagement.net/own/operating-uk-hotels-a-
brexit-world>
To solve its labor shortage, the UK food industry is importing more workers, 2021. [Online].
Available at: <https://qz.com/2065613/to-solve-its-labor-shortage-the-uk-is-
importing-more-workers/>