“With over 100,000 vacancies in our NHS, efforts to address this shortage are welcome news. However, our Report on Jobs data, out today, shows there are skills shortages across a range of sectors and roles – from health and social care to construction and IT.
“Employers need a fast, predictable immigration system. This includes a two-year temporary route that is affordable for workers of all skills who want to come and work in the UK. Post-Brexit immigration policy must reflect the needs of the whole economy, not just the public sector.”
On Labour’s flexible working policy announcements:
“Family-friendly policies and flexibility for workers are the right priorities. We need to make a lot more progress on these issues than we have to date. The best policy changes in our labour market happen when government works with business on policies that benefit workers and help businesses at the same time.
“Family-friendly flexibility is the right question – government must work with business on the answer, not impose it top-down.
“The REC and the recruitment industry know all about what kind of flexibility works. On any given day we place over one million people in flexible jobs who want the benefit of having control over their hours to achieve a better work-life balance.”
On the Labour proposal for a Workers Protection Agency:
“We would need to see more details to properly judge this proposal. Whoever forms the next government, we need an enforcement structure that delivers fairness and a level playing field. This will best serve the interests of compliant businesses as well as individual workers. Professional bodies with a clear mission to improve compliance and standards should be seen as genuine partners in enforcing laws that affect workers.”
