Labour mobility in transition: a multi-actor study of the re-regulation of migrant work in 'low-skilled' sectors
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: Leeds University Business School (LUBS)
Abstract
Migration for work is a key part of employment in the UK, but it will change critically after Brexit, with significant restrictions being placed on migration into low-skilled jobs. Jobs in sectors such as food, care and warehousing have been identified as of high social value during the pandemic. The aim of this research is to examine how stakeholders in low-skilled sectors in the UK are responding to the changing regulation of migration. While there has been a wealth of economic analysis on the impact of Brexit on migration, research on stakeholder responses to changes is limited. We know little about how employers are adapting their human resource strategies, whether they are looking to employ migrant workers, the impact of new visa rule and how they are re-designing work or developing skills among the workforce. Little is known about how employers, workers, unions and other stakeholders engage in dialogue over the changing migration environment. Drawing on established frameworks around social dialogue in employment relations and applying these to the area of migration, our project provides innovative approaches to understanding this unprecedented transition in labour mobility. We will provide an analysis across 4 key sectors and will examine the experiences of a range of stakeholders, including employers, migrant and local workers, unions, local authorities, community groups and policy makers. The research is comprised of 3 inter-connected work packages, blending quantitative and qualitative methods and designed to ensure dialogue with stakeholders to jointly produce the project outcomes.
In Work Package 1 a new survey will be carried, examining employer use of migrant labour, responses to the post-Brexit, pandemic context and employer perceptions and experiences of dialogue around migration. This will generate responses from 2000 employers nationally in Residential and Social Care, Hospitality, Food and Drink Processing and Warehousing.
In Work package 2, we will capture the lived experiences and strategies of migrant and local workers, employers and other stakeholders within the Yorkshire and Humber region, undertaking 3 in-depth workplace-based case studies in each of our 4 sectors, with a total of 132 interviews. Alongside these, 20 interviews (5 per sector) will be conducted with recruitment agencies, skills bodies, employer organisations, civil society and migrant support groups.
In Work Package 3, we will analyse sector-specific initiatives on managing the new migration environment, conducting 6 case studies of key initiatives. We will also undertake 8 participatory workshops bringing participants together to discuss issues around migration for work and its changing regulation. The research will be disseminated as early as possible, and will be designed to be of use for policy and practice in the areas of Human Resources, Recruitment, Trade Unions, Migrant Support, Skills, and Supply Chain Management.
Key outputs will be:
* Findings from a new survey in 4 key low-skill sectors on employer responses to the post-Brexit, post-pandemic context
* Research findings from 12 case studies and sector-level stakeholder interviews
* Research findings from interviews about sector-level initiatives
* Summary briefings for external partners, participants and wider networks
* A final report and policy briefing for regional and national policy makers
* 6 single and co
* User friendly resources tailored to different stakeholders (e.g. managing the transition booklets for HR practitioners, know your rights pamphlets for unions)
* A Seminar/Webinar series co-delivered with partners
* 200 fully transcribed interviews, plus transcripts of stakeholder and workshops, prepared for archiving
* A final event in Westminster presenting key findings and discussing way forward for policy makers with external partners, academic beneficiaries and international advisor
* 6 academic articles in international journals
In Work Package 1 a new survey will be carried, examining employer use of migrant labour, responses to the post-Brexit, pandemic context and employer perceptions and experiences of dialogue around migration. This will generate responses from 2000 employers nationally in Residential and Social Care, Hospitality, Food and Drink Processing and Warehousing.
In Work package 2, we will capture the lived experiences and strategies of migrant and local workers, employers and other stakeholders within the Yorkshire and Humber region, undertaking 3 in-depth workplace-based case studies in each of our 4 sectors, with a total of 132 interviews. Alongside these, 20 interviews (5 per sector) will be conducted with recruitment agencies, skills bodies, employer organisations, civil society and migrant support groups.
In Work Package 3, we will analyse sector-specific initiatives on managing the new migration environment, conducting 6 case studies of key initiatives. We will also undertake 8 participatory workshops bringing participants together to discuss issues around migration for work and its changing regulation. The research will be disseminated as early as possible, and will be designed to be of use for policy and practice in the areas of Human Resources, Recruitment, Trade Unions, Migrant Support, Skills, and Supply Chain Management.
Key outputs will be:
* Findings from a new survey in 4 key low-skill sectors on employer responses to the post-Brexit, post-pandemic context
* Research findings from 12 case studies and sector-level stakeholder interviews
* Research findings from interviews about sector-level initiatives
* Summary briefings for external partners, participants and wider networks
* A final report and policy briefing for regional and national policy makers
* 6 single and co
* User friendly resources tailored to different stakeholders (e.g. managing the transition booklets for HR practitioners, know your rights pamphlets for unions)
* A Seminar/Webinar series co-delivered with partners
* 200 fully transcribed interviews, plus transcripts of stakeholder and workshops, prepared for archiving
* A final event in Westminster presenting key findings and discussing way forward for policy makers with external partners, academic beneficiaries and international advisor
* 6 academic articles in international journals
Publications
Alberti G
(2022)
Labour migration policy post-Brexit: The contested meaning of regulation by old and new actors
in Industrial Relations Journal
Chris Forde
(2024)
Employers' post-Brexit workforce strategies and their use of migrant workers
Ciupijus Z
(2022)
The UK National Health Service's migration infrastructure in times of Brexit and COVID-19: Disjunctures, continuities and innovations.
in International migration (Geneva, Switzerland)
Tom Baum
(2023)
Wage and Employment in the UK's hospitality Sector
| Description | The WP1 of the project has been completed and the findings of the Employer Survey have been collected in a report (about to be published). The Employers' workforce strategies in the post-Brexit period: Findings from the Labour Mobility in Transition survey of employers key findings are: The reasons for labour shortages in the context of Brexit and Covid effects across the sectors studied (hospitality, food and drinks manufacturing, warehousing and transport and adult social care are as follows: Brexit seen as a factor, but other long-standing factors in sectors very important including low pay levels; poor progression opportunities ; conditions of work. The survey found some changes in the use of migrant labour by employers across the four sectors (towards UK workers, or workers from outside EU) However the change in the use of migrant workers was not considered as most important strategy to address vacancies by employers. Instead, improvements in pay, conditions most important responses, albeit this needs to be seen in the context of low-paying sectors, where pay is typically benchmarked against the NMW We found little evidence of automation as a response to shortages. We found some increased use of flexible working to attract local workers. Finally, regarding dialogue around immigration there was some variety across the sectors circa the perception of "ongoing opportunities for us to consult with Government over labour shortages" with social care reporting higher (positive) responses, followed by hospitality, warehousing and food. Critically for our study, very few participant companies indicated that they had been consulted by the government trade bodies or employer representative bodies on shortages and immigration reform. It is interesting that more than one quarter of the companies agreed that membership to a trade body/employer organisation is in fact important when considering discussions on migration, especially employers in the warehousing sector (37%). Overall, we find that Brexit and COVID-19 have both had significant impact upon employment strategies in all 4 sectors, namely in terms of widespread labour shortages, particularly since 2020 when the effects of the end of free movement of workers overlapped with many EU workers leaving the UK during or after the lockdowns. Our survey critically highlighted the limitations to the seamless introduction of substitution strategies: from re-training to automation, to the diversification of the migrant workforce. Some changes in terms of both migrant composition and contractual statuses seem to be occurring but these appear as either the result of a reactive response by firms or reflecting a slow and organic change in the migrant composition of labour (some limited move to a greater use of non-EU workers). Critically most of the changes have occurred outside of the immigration system. Strategies used vary across sectors and firm size: the extent of use of migrant labour, and extent of use of non-standard labour also key determinants (and constraints) on strategies being used. We conclude that shortages do reflect wider, long-standing issues in each sector, which may require other policies (government and individual employer) to address in the areas of training and upskilling, employment relations, and workplace innovation. |
| Exploitation Route | We are disseminating the findings through our large network of industry and policy stakeholders, dissemination and impact activities will continued until the end of the project in February 2025 and beyond. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Communities and Social Services/Policy Healthcare Government Democracy and Justice Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology Retail Other |
| Description | The findings have been used by some of our industry and policy partners and stakeholders, for instance the UKWA has cited our research in their submission to the government regarding the labour market post Brexit/Covid to ask for support and action on the migration system to tackle shortages The findings have informed workshops with local authorities including city councils and combined authorities who are developing new strategies to tackle workforce issues in social care-this is an area of further collaboration and development with Leeds city council and the regional international recruitment hub re-allocating displaced migrant care workers. the new impact funding obtained (IAA) will be used to further develop an impact plan working with these partners and third sector organisations supporting vulnerable migrant care workers. Further discussions are ongoing on how to co-produce an employer information platform around migration with Migration Yorkshire which draws from our research on employer strategies in low-paid sectors and dialogue on migration |
| First Year Of Impact | 2024 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Impact Types | Societal Economic |
| Description | Evidence submitted to Public Accounts Committee, October 2022: Written evidence by Dr. Gabriella Alberti, Dr Marketa Dolezalova and Dr. Jo Cutter, Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC), Leeds University Business School |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/112101/pdf/ |
| Description | Membership of Advisory Board MESH, Migrant English Support Hub |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | The MESH has already reached out to a large number of new arrivals in Leeds in need of language and employment support, and during the pandemic has helped connecting teachers and migrant learners who were encountering barriers to access the labour market due to the lack of digital skills. For exact figures on the number of learners and service users reached please see the Annual Report of MESH available on their Website (under "Publication and Presentations"). |
| URL | https://www.leedsmesh.org/about-mesh |
| Description | Membership of ReWAGE, Renewing Work Advisory Group of Experts |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/rewage/about/ |
| Description | Our LIMITS Employer Survey was cited in the Low-Pay Commission report 2023 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/low-pay-commission-report-2023 |
| Description | Responding to Brexit before Brexit: navigating the work and labour market impacts of the 2016 EU referendum (Impact Acceleration Account, ESRC/LSSI) |
| Amount | £13,254 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2019 |
| End | 06/2022 |
| Description | Participation in the ReWage Advisory Group (Migration and Hospitality sub-groups_ |
| Organisation | University of Warwick |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Gabriella Alberti (PI) and Chris Forde (CO-I) have been invited to become members of the Renewing Work Advisory Group of Experts launched in August 2021 and co-chaired by Professor Grugulis (University of Leeds) and Professor Warhurst (University of Warwick) which consists of a group of expert in the economic and social sciences providing independent advice to the UK Government in the context of Covid-19 and its impact on the UK economy. The focus of the group is to provide evidence and policy advice to build a sustainable labour market and economic recovery based on good quality employment post- Covid, built on solid academic knowledge on skills, training, migration, Industrial Relations and labour markets analyses across a range of experts in the UK. As it is stated in the UoL webpage for the project:" Independent of government, ReWAGE aims to ensure that co-ordinated, timely, expert advice based on science, and business and economic data is made available to UK decision makers during and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic" https://business.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/news/article/661/driving-progress-towards-more-good-jobs-in-the-post-pandemic-uk. Alberti and Forde have been invited on the basis of their expertise on the impact of Brexit and Covid on labour markets, employment relations and migration. Their ESRC Limits project and their ongoing empirical investigation across four sectors critically impacted by Covid and Brexit provides many synergies with the ReWage group. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Forde and Alberti have been invited to join two particular subgroups of the ReWage: one on Migration led by Professor J. Porters and another one on hospitality led by Professor T. Baum. They have attended two meetings since the Autumn 2021 for each of the sub-group and are contributing to the final policy report that ReWage is due to submit this year. Alberti is contributing to a mapping exercise for the Hospitality sector led by professor Baum. Forde and Alberti are collaborating on the regional level of labour market statistical analysis and are contributing to the academic debate on labour mobility especially in the health and social care sector within the group. The work is in progress. |
| Impact | the output are foreseen for this year 2022 and they are likely to be a policy report for each of the Rewage Subgroup. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | "Migrant workers in the UK after Brexit: labour shortages in the context of the hostile environment", Presentation at 6th RSA MICaRD Research Network Conference University of Lincoln, 28-30 September 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Conference presentation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/282/migrant_workers_in_the_uk_after_brexit |
| Description | "The contested politics of migration as a solution to labour shortages", Blog for UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE), January 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Blog for UK in a Changing Europe Website. The Ukice Twitter following is over 45,000 people, and posts about the blog receieved over 20,000 views on Twitter |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://ukandeu.ac.uk/the-contested-politics-of-migration-as-a-solution-to-labour-shortages/ |
| Description | 1 Limits/HuLog workshop - Regional partnerships to improve work quality in low-paid sectors |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | together with the members of the research Humans in Digital logistics (another ESRC funded project) we organised a workshop to discuss the findings of both project with members of the combined authorities in Yorkshire, trade unions and sector representative. We collected feedback on a guide to action to improve quality of work in migrant-rich sectors in the region and to support third sector organisations in this area |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | 27th April 2023, Chris Forde spoke at the "Next Steps for Immigration Policy" online Conference (Westminster Policy Forum) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Chris Forde presented the early findings of the LIMITS Employer survey to policy makers at Westminister policy forum (focus on migration and employment policy) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Addressing workforce challenges in warehousing and food manufacturing: sharing good practices in recruitment and retention, new technologies and diversity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | in this workshop we presented key findings from our Employer Survey and received feedback from industry practitoners across food manufacturing and warehousing and facilitated exchange of views among participants across trade unions, local authorities and employer groups |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | CERIC Seminar presentation: LIMITS survey employer strategies post Brexit and the use of migrant workers, University of Leeds |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This presentation explores employers' workforce and labour strategies in the post-Brexit period, and their use of migrant labour. The ending of freedom of movement of labour as a result of the UK's exit from the EU and the COVID-19 pandemic constitute an unprecedented case of re-regulation of labour mobility, with wide implications for employers' management and labour use strategies. We explore the impact of this changing regime of migration regulation in the UK for four sectors: hospitality, warehousing/logistics, food and drink manufacture and social care, sectors which have historically been highly dependent on migrant workers and perceived as 'low-skilled'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/labour-mobility-in-transition-tickets-847010169217 |
| Description | Contesting the final mile: the re-regulation of gig work in logistics: labour shortages, the role of unions and courier experiences of hybrid statuses in an English logistics company |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented at the conference ESA Conference 2024, Tension, Trust and Transformation. Porto. it focused on results from one case study in warehousing and employment contract issues |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Creation of the Limits webpage |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | We created a dedicated Webpage for our Limits project through the University of Leeds Business School marketing team. The Website includes summary and foreseen outcomes of the project and contains links about blogs and any relevant material for the research participants (professional and industry bodies, and community groups, local government, national government, third sector). For instance beyond hyper-linking our CERIC blogs, we have uploaded the slides we have produced as part of our overview of sectors impacted by Brexit and Covid-19 for general public (free download). The main aim of the website is to create a direct interface with our stakeholders (which have been informed about it at our first External advisory board member of the project in October 2021) to share information about the key aims and milestones of the project and keep them up to date with our work through publications of blogs and other relevant material for practitioners in the field of work employment and migration policy. This is a "live" webpage that will be constantly updated as well as constituting a repository for our main social media output such as blogs. The live nature of this webpage is critical given the ongoing development of our field (new visa for low skilled workers, development of the health crisis, economic developments). It is also important as a up to date repository to share with our international members of the advisory board and the wider international academic community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-ceric/dir-record/research-projects/1870/labour-mobility-in-tra... |
| Description | Employers' responses to the end of free movement: the rhetoric and realities of automation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Blog for Digital Futures at Work website, summarising key findings from our ReWage/Migration Observatory report |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://digit-research.org/blog_article/employers-responses-to-the-end-of-free-movement-rhetoric-and... |
| Description | Gabriella Alberti participated in the Westminster Legal Policy Forum webinar titled 'Next steps for the UK's immigration system post-Brexit' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Gabriella participated in Westminster Legal Policy Forum webinar titled 'Next steps for the UK's immigration system post-Brexit' where a variety of policy, industry and legal experts and practitioners highlighted the current use and limitations of the point based system, the use and impact of the salary threshold, problems around digital status for EU migrants, temporary migration programmes and the risks of exploitation, alternative immigration policies and models (including migration partnerships) and whether migration can/should be used as a way to tackle labour market and economic issues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | HRM challenges, migrant workers and the regulation of migration post-Brexit/post-COVID, Presentation to CIPD Applied Research Conference, January 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of initial findings from survey at CIPD Applied Research Conference, Manchester, January 2023 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | How are employers in warehousing and food manufacturing dealing with ongoing workforce pressures? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This blog post focuses on the emerging findings of our recent workshop held on the 7th June 2024 with key industry and policy stakeholders on responses to ongoing worker shortages, challenges, best practices, and common trends in warehousing and food manufacturing. The event included representatives from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), employers from the logistics and warehousing sector, employer federations, skill bodies, and local authority representatives. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://business.leeds.ac.uk/dir-record/research-blog/2264/how-are-employers-in-warehousing-and-food... |
| Description | Improving working conditions and preventing exploitation in adult social care: challenges and good practice examples |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | this workshop involved high level professional industry representative and third sector working in the care sector to discuss key challenges and strategic solutions regarding the workforce and quality of work. it was part of WP3 and used as data collection as well as coproduction with key partners |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Ioulia Bessa Ioulia presented at the Work Employment and Society Conference in Glasgow on the topic of Automation and the substitution of labour in low wage, migrant rich sectors in the UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | internationally renown conferences the paper presented triggered a variety of questions that contribute to enrich the analytical framework for the research |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | June 2023 - Jo Cutter presented on the Employer Responses to Supply Chain Crises, Skills and the Use of Migrant Labour: Evidence from the UK Warehousing Sector presentation at the International Sociological Association's World Congress in June 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | June 2023 - Employer Responses to Supply Chain Crises, Skills and the Use of Migrant Labour: Evidence from the UK Warehousing Sector presentation at the International Sociological Association's World Congress in June 2023 (Jo) Jo also participated as a discussant in a one-day workshop at the University of Melbourne, the topic of the workshop was: Towards a Concept of Labour Regimes in Warehouse Logistics: Changing management conceptions of the 'ideal' worker-citizen? |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Labour Mobility Post-Brexit, Presentation at International Labour Process Conference, April 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Conference presentation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/269/labour_mobility_post-brexit |
| Description | Labour shortages, automation, and upskilling in UK food and drink manufacturing |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | this is a new podcast part of the LIMITS project podcast series Drs Gabriella Alberti and Jo Cutter are joined by Caroline Keohane and Tanya Barringer from the Food and Drink Federation to discuss how the workforce in the UK food and drink sector has been affected since the end of the free movement of labour from the EU, and other subsequent crises. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://soundcloud.com/leedsunibschool/labour-shortages-automation-and-upskilling-in-uk-food-and-dri... |
| Description | Managing labour after Brexit: a comparison of migration policy impact on the use of migrant workers in adult social care and warehousing sectors |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | paper presented at the conference Sharing and co-producing knowledge in migrant labour research. the paper focused on the qualitative research: Managing labour after Brexit: a comparison of migration policy impact on the use of migrant workers in adult social care and warehousing sectors, University of Padua workshop, 10-11 February 2025 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | November 2023 - American Anthropological Association annual conference - Marketa Dolezalova was a roundtable participant, topic of the roundtable was "Where have all the workers gone?" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | November 2023 - American Anthropological Association annual conference - Marketa Dolezalova was a roundtable participant, topic of the roundtable was "Where have all the workers gone?" Ideological framings of post-pandemic labor regimes . Marketa's contribution was Labour shortages in the UK: effects of Brexit and Covid or a long-term issue? |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Podcast: How recent changes to the immigration system have affected the Yorkshire and the Humber workforce |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Podcast for Leeds University Business School Research and Innovation series |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://business.leeds.ac.uk/dir-record/research-blog/2018/podcast-how-recent-changes-to-the-immigra... |
| Description | Podcast: Introducing the Labour Mobility in Transition Project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Podcast for Leeds University Business School Research and Innovation series |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://business.leeds.ac.uk/dir-record/research-blog/2005/podcast-introducing-the-labour-mobility-i... |
| Description | Podcast: The Barriers Migrants Face when they Enter the UK Workforce |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Podcast for Leeds University Business School Research and Innovation Series |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://business.leeds.ac.uk/dir-record/research-blog/2034/podcast-the-barriers-migrants-face-when-e... |
| Description | Presentation to Scottish Parliament on ReWage/Migration Observatory report, October 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to Scottish Parliament group by Forde of material from ReWage/Migration Observatory report, co-authored by Alberti and Forde |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Research Blog UK post-Brexit migration and pandemic effects: how unexpected was the current shortage crisis? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In this Blog published on our research centre website (Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change) we provided an overview of the impact of the Covid and Brexit crisis on the labour market focusing on two sectors among those researched in our project (hospitality and transport/truck drivers) in light of the late summer 2021 shortage crisis. The Blog had two aims: to provide informed evidence and elaborate critical reflection on policy responses to the labour shortages and to publicise our new ESRC project to a wider audience comprising both academic and practitioners. The original perspective lies in exploring the relative predictability of the shortage crisis in light of the substantial changes in the immigration system of the UK. We have also used the blog as informational material and base for discussion among other sources for our external advisory board members as we had our first meeting in October 2021.The stakeholders provided feedback on the themes addressed by the blog and while there is not written feedback on the commentary section of the blog, our webpage analytics show that the blog received 290 views since it was published in 2021 until today (March 2022). The blog also sparked discussion in the academic group at school and departmental level and facilitated new collaborations with colleagues (e.g. ReWage invitation-see new partnerships and collaboration section). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://cericleeds.wordpress.com/2021/08/16/uk-post-brexit-migration-and-pandemic-effects-how-unexpe... |
| Description | Research blog-From a health crisis to a labour crisis? Omicron, Brexit and labour shortages |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | In this blog (published on the Website of the Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change, UoL) we have provided a critical reflection of the impact of the new wave of the Covid pandemic (Omicron variant) on the UK labour market and migration, highlighting the impact on the crisis of recruitment in additional sectors to those covered in the previous blog (August 21), such as health and social care. We have explored in particular the significance of critical developments in the field of migration policy and how they represent immediate responses by the government to the labour crisis in specific occupations, with the introduction of temporary visa schemes for poultry workers and HGV drivers. We have shared the blog with our partners and used it as an opportunity to keep the dialogue going with our external advisory board members and new partners from the 4 sectors under research, and to to draw comparisons across the different areas of the economy. The focus of the academic analysis was on the limitations of temporary schemes to respond to longer term challenges in work and employment in these high vacancy sectors and the ongoing relevance of labour mobility even after Brexit. We have also used the Blog as an opportunity to advertise the future Employer Survey as part of our ESRC project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://cericleeds.wordpress.com/2022/01/13/from-a-health-crisis-to-a-labour-crisis-omicron-brexit-a... |
| Description | September 2023 - Chris Forde presented a paper at the Low Pay Commission Annual Research Symposium in September. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Professor Chris Forde presented a paper at the Low Pay Commission Annual Research Symposium in September. the findings were cited in the commission report in march 2024: "Chris Forde (Leeds University) then presented the early findings from an ESRC-funded project 'Labour Mobility in Transition: a multi-actor study of the re-regulation of migrant work in 'low-skilled' sectors (LIMITS) project, which looked at employers' use of migrant workers and responses to labour shortages in four low-paying sectors - hospitality, social care, food and drink processing, and warehousing. They got 1,280 responses from a survey of employers conducted between July 2022 and February 2023. The key findings were: the NMW looks like it acts as a benchmark for pay in all four sectors covered; Brexit and COVID have both had significant impact upon all 4 sectors with a move away from employing EU workers, particularly since 2020; Raising hourly pay was a key strategy for addressing labour shortages (and one which has been successful); Shortages also reflected wider, long- standing issues in each sector which may require other policies (government and individual employer) to address; Relatively little use was made of employer visas - even in sectors where there were specific schemes; and there was very little evidence of employers using automation as a means of reducing reliance on workers. These findings are similar to what we hear from stakeholders on our visits". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | The changing use of labour post Brexit, : Changes in recruitment and employment, labour shortages and employers' and HR responses |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | paper presented at the SASE conference in Limerik focused on the employer survey results |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | The end of free movement and the low wage labour force in the UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Blog for Work Foundation website. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundation/news-and-events/blog/the-end-of-free-movement-and-the-lo... |
| Description | Tweets about our project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We have used social media channels especially Twitter to: 1. advertise the start of our ESRC research project; 2. keep the interested academic and external/industry partners audience up to date about critical developments and events as part of our research programme (e.g. we have tweeted about the first External Advisory Board in October 2021); 3. to advertise our interim outcomes such as research blogs our our CERIC website. The Tweet sent by our team member professor Forde and retweeted by all other members of the research team and our research centre (CERIC) account have produced a great response with the top Tweets from our ESRC Limits project receiving 931 impressions. - the number of views/reads' for the top tweet, and a variety of comments and retweets from colleagues and practitioners (based both in UK and internationally). Please note the existing analytics only gives the top ones over the last 6 months, The Tweets sparked debate and facilitated some initial reports of change in views and opinions from the audience-although not directly with research participants. We aim to further develop our social media strategy as we develop our empirical research to advertise further outputs with the help of our UoL communication team. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| Description | Video: Engaging Stakeholders in Co-Production |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Video made for Leeds Social Science Insitute |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8nzUJToe1Y |
| Description | Wake up to Money BBC Radio 5 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Dr Gabriella Alberti discusses the recent migrant figures and UK immigration on the BBC's "Wake up to Money" the PI has been interviewed about the key findings of the UKRI research and to comment on the election debate on migration and low skilled work |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Worker mobility, skill development and career progression in the UK hospitality sector |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | this workshop part of WP3 of the research engaged national level professional practiotiners and workers from the hospitality sector to discuss ongoing issues related to shortages, migration, skills and policy responses. Researchers shared the key findings from the case study and survey research |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Working conditions and employment in adult social care: familiar challenges, but what are possible solutions? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 11th July 2024, we held a workshop at the Carriageworks, Leeds, bringing together a range of key stakeholders in the care sector (employer sector bodies, migration advisory groups, third sector and charitable organisations) to consider the challenges facing the adult social care sector. The core discussions of the workshop centred on the following questions: What can be done to improve working conditions and prevent exploitation in social care, and what examples of good practice are there? In a wide-ranging discussion, it was clear that there are no straightforward solutions to the challenges being experienced in the sector. Many of the current issues and challenges reflect long-standing, structural and institutional constraints in the industry, and are beyond the capabilities of any individual employer, worker or organisation to address. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://business.leeds.ac.uk/dir-record/research-blog/2295/working-conditions-and-employment-in-adul... |
| Description | Zyama Ciupijus presented at the Work Employment and Society conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | September 2023 - Zyama Ciupijus presented at the Work Employment and Society conference in Glasgow on the topic of hospitality at the same conference a paper entitled 'The UK hospitality sector under pressure: analysing employers and workers adjustment strategies to post-Covid and post-Brexit working environments'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |