Following the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU in 2007, nationals of Bulgaria and Romania are currently entitled to reside in the UK, but unlike other EU nationals, they are not allowed to seek work in the UK without a work permit (a worker accession card) during the 7 year transition period.
This restriction will be lifted from 1 January 2014, so employers will no longer need to worry about work permits for these workers. This will likely lead to opportunities for employers to benefit from this wider workforce, as it is anticipated that the removal of this restriction will encourage migration from these member states. Accordingly, companies should start to prepare now in order to facilitate the different cultural backgrounds and languages and benefit from this potential stream of workers, who can cheaply plug gaps in the workforce.
