A Post-Brexit Labor Market Will Severely Hurt UK Tourism’s Ability to Recruit
Photo Credit: Tourists on a sightseeing bus. Flickr / Andrew
Skift Take
What will happen with Brexit is still anyone's guess. But the end of the "freedom of movement" — which is the most likely outcome in the event of any Brexit deal or no deal — will present existential hiring challenges for the tourism sector's labor force.
Virtually nothing about Brexit is certain. However, one thing that looks likely is this: Should it go forward, with a deal or no deal, the freedom of movement that has allowed Europeans to work in the United Kingdom, and vice versa, will end.
The immigration plan that the UK government has proposed to replace that freedom of movement has prominently featured the ideas of both a minimum salary threshold of £30,000 ($36,672) as well as a skills-based merit system for European nationals who want to come to the UK to work post-Brexit. That puts the tourism industry in an undeniable bind: It over-relies on EU labor compared to other industries, and has an average salary of £23,000 ($28,128) per year, far below the proposed thr
