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SMF blog questions Labour’s omission of hiring test

Published on: 20 June 2025
Published by LNB News

LNB News 20/06/2025

Document Information

Issue Date: 20 June 2025

Published Date: 20 June 2025

Jurisdiction(s): England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales

Article summary

Jonathan Thomas, Senior Fellow at the Social Market Foundation (SMF) has highlighted in a blog the government’s continued omission of the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT) from its post-Brexit labour immigration framework, despite its alignment with the Labour administration’s stated aim to reduce reliance on overseas workers. Thomas, a migration expert atSMF, notes that although the government’s White Paper confirms tighter eligibility for overseas workers, it stops short of reinstating the RLMT—which previously required employers to advertise locally before hiring abroad. The blog observes that the RLMT’s absence risks undermining the government’s narrative that immigration should supplement, not supplant, the domestic workforce. Without it, the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC)—a levy on employers hiring from abroad to fund local training—lacks a crucial complementary mechanism that would evidence employers’ efforts to hire locally first. While its removal was initially welcomed by employers as a reduction in bureaucracy, legal ambiguity around prioritising local candidates has created new...

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