Post Brexit labour shortages effecting businesses in area of logistics

In addition to the pandemic and a wide range of other economic issues and problems impacting the UK currently, there is also significant setback to multiple aspects of the economy including the supply chain and logistics especially through labour shortages, as a result of the British exit from the European Union. Partington (2021) through the staff availability index indicates that employers in the UK have struggled with the worst labour shortages since 1997 as a result of the British exit from the EU. For businesses navigating all these challenges, seeking expert guidance like business dissertation help can provide the most valuable insights and strategies for managing labor shortages and various other related issues.

Overall Staff Availability Index

He highlights that the rush to reopen the economy post Brexit and covid-19 coupled with the departure of overseas workers has left huge gaps in human resource in areas such as transportation, hospitality and constriction. For instance, the retail stock industry has experienced the lowest sales in 38 years as a result of worker shortage and disruption caused by Brexit and now covid-19 (Partington and Partridge, 2021). Further, Taylor (2021) highlights that at present the United Kingdom has an estimated shortage of 100,000 truck drivers, a significant labour shortage that not only disrupt the logistical aspects of the supply chain but has also had significant consequences in the country’s overall economy with widespread disrupted deliveries leading to empty stores, dry gas stations and backlogs in ports. While haulage organizations have largely blamed the shortage to post Brexit exodus of the EU nationals, the lack of adequately developed policies regarding immigrant labour also contributes significantly to the labour shortages.

As such, this articles looks to dissect three academic papers addressing the labour shortage in the UK post Brexit, including the contributing factors to the shortage and some of the barriers that impact the persistence of the labour shortage overtime. In better understanding some of the direct causes of labour shortage as a result of the Brexit, the UK can begin to chart new logistical strategies to ensure adequate labour supply in all sectors and a revival of the economy through adequate operations management.

Analysis

Article 1: Brexit, Human resource Implications

In the first academic paper Maranda Ridgway engages in developing a theoretical evaluation on how employee resourcing and other human resource activities are impacted following the British exit from the European Union. Ridgway (2019) acknowledges the existence of labour shortages in the UK post Brexit and majorly attributes this to the restrictions on the flow of talent into the UK. With the exit of Britain from the EU, the country is no longer privy to any benefits of having foreign EU employees easily coming in and out of the country to satisfy any labour requirements, rather, the restrictions have reinvigorated the war and scramble for talent between the UK and other countries in the EU leading to a shortage of foreign talent available to work within the country. Ridgway (2019) highlights one way to minimize the labour shortage to be the removal of the restrictions baring labour migration into the country. She asserts that “removal of restrictions to recruit from within the European Economic Area may trigger increased global migration of skilled workers to help meet the skilled employment requirements.” She also further suggests that employers can contribute towards minimizing the labour shortage by re-skilling their own employees who are already in lower-skilled roles and promoting flexible working arrangements through adequate operations management.

Article 2: Labour Immigration post Brexit

These ideas and suggestions are further reinforced by other scholars such as Madeline Sumption and the National Institute Economic Review all of who believe immigration policies and employer involvement in re-skilling their employees is the way to go. When it comes to immigration policies Sumption (2017) asserts that the UK government faces significant turmoil as a result of introducing work-permits for all foreign workers within the country. While this system may be significant to help protect local workers and limit the overreliance of the country’s supply chain and logistics operations on foreign talent, Sumption (2017) argues that the decision on which occupations are eligible for labour immigration after Brexit is important and may be a significant impediment leading to labour shortages.

While the country’s economy can benefit from foreign talent, what is the threshold for which the foreign talent in the country becomes unsustainable to the country’s GDP and economic welfare? Sumption (2017) argues that while currently there are no statistical metrics for making such decisions within the country, the UK government will be forced to prioritize among multiple competing objectives including the performance and continued growth and development of the country’s economy and the country’s employee welfare which is derailed by lack of adequate skills and talent.

Article 3: Employer sponsorship in re-skilling the Labour force

The lack of necessary skills and talents presents the biggest problem yet to the UK economy and is significantly at the centre of the post-Brexit labour shortages being experienced currently within the country. One of the ways to solve this and that is suggested in the third paper by the National Institute Economic Review is employer sponsorship towards re-skilling the local labour force. Based on a proposal by the UK government highlighted within the paper, establishing long-term migration for local employees into high-skilled jobs post Brexit significantly requires employers to sponsor their employees in activities such as training and development to enhance their talents and skills.

The paper by the National Institute Economic Review (2019) asserts that while it makes sense to issue work permits to workers in low-skilled and low-wage jobs, high-skilled employees ultimately becomes crucial organization assets and contributing towards the development of these assets by employers not only impact enhanced performance, but also contributes significantly towards employee retention is the first step towards solving the post Brexit labour shortages. The paper further argues that adopting employee sponsorship enables the government a greater ability to regulate the types of jobs that can be filled by migrants, and gives employers a greater power and control over their workforce. Employer sponsorship also increases the administrative burden of hiring overseas workers which works towards minimizing the number of labour immigrants into the country and contributes towards a more rapid stabilization of the country’s economy.

Criticism

All the three articles significantly look into the potential causes and solutions for the labour shortages experienced post Brexit and that are significantly impacting the UK economy. Ridgway (2019) is perhaps the most extensive study into the implications of Brexit to the labour force and the economy as a whole. She does a good job of highlighting gaps in the labour force as a result of the shifting labour laws especially with UK not being part of the EU anymore. While she asserts that reducing restrictions to foreign employees may help solve the labour shortage, this may lead to excess importation of labour so much so that the local labour force becomes progressively diminished. Reino and Rienzo (2021) already show that the number of foreigners employed in the UK is much higher than the locals, with migrant men having a more favourable chance (84%) to be employed in the country compared to UK-born men (79%)

Share of Foreign Born people employed in the UK

As such I think this is not an effective strategy to deal with the labour shortage problem. Her second suggestion for employers to help in re-skilling their low-skilled employees into high skilled and necessary jobs is much more effective as it will not only ensure local employees have adequate opportunities to contribute to their own economy, it will also contribute towards progressively stabilizing the economy in the long run.

The second article looks at the governments’ restriction to employee immigration as a way to regulate how much and who is needed within the country’s economy to fill in the labour shortage. Based on Sumption (2017) introducing work permits to all foreign workers presents a way of regulating which jobs are taken by immigrants and how many of the immigrant workers can come into the UK for various job positions. While this is a significant policy and suggestion when it comes to solving the labour shortage problem and at the same time protecting local employees and allowing them the right of first refusal to the available job opportunities within the country, the work permits are more likely to increase the adversity between the EU and UK and thereof lead to further strains in trade and economic relationships. The decision regarding who is allowed a permit will also depend on multiple factors which can lead to prioritization of issues that are not pertinent to local employees and may have adverse impacts towards local workers.

The third article however provides a solution that can benefit all parties involved including the employers, local employees, the government and potential immigrant workers. Through employers’ sponsorship in re-skilling their low-skilled workers to occupy much more impactful and significant high-skilled jobs within the country, the employers contribute in developing a high-skilled labour force within the country which is beneficial to the economy. It also makes it easier for the government to develop a protocol and procedure for granting foreign workers work permits. The remaining low skilled jobs such as truck driving within the logistical aspect of the supply chain can then be allowed to foreign workers. The third article offers a much more comprehensive solution to the labour shortage problems within the UK.

Conclusion

Labour shortage is among the key problems facing the UK as a result of their exit from the European Union. This can be majorly attributed to the restriction in the flow of talent into the UK as a result of the broken relations with other EU countries. While developing work permits to allow EU citizens into the UK for work opportunities will help encourage an influx of workers and therefore solve the countries labour shortage issues, this solution does not take into account the welfare of the local workers. This necessitates the need to re-skill local employees so they can occupy the highly skilled technical positions for a much more inclusive benefit to the economy and the people making up the economy.

References

National Institute Economic Review, 2019. Is Employer Sponsorship a Good Way to Manage Labour Migration? Implications for Post-Brexit Migration Policies. National Institute Economic Review, 248, pp.R28-R39.

Partington, R., 2021. UK employers struggle with worst labour shortage since 1997. [online] the Guardian. Available at: [Accessed 28 November 2021].

Partington, R. and Partridge, J., 2021. UK plunges towards supply chain crisis due to staff and transport disruption. [online] the Guardian. Available at: [Accessed 27 November 2021].

Reino, M. and Rienzo, C., 2021. Migrants in the UK Labour Market: An Overview - Migration Observatory. [online] Migration Observatory. Available at: [Accessed 28 November 2021].

Ridgway, M., 2019. Brexit: human resourcing implications. Employee Relations: The International Journal, 41(5), pp.1033-1045.

Sumption, M., 2017. Labour immigration after Brexit: questions and trade-offs in designing a work permit system for EU citizens. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 33(suppl_1), pp.S45-S53.

Taylor, C., 2021. Gas crisis, labor shortages and supply chain chaos: Post-Brexit Britain faces a difficult winter. [online] cnbc. Available at: [Accessed 27 November 2021].

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