New Restrictions on Workers from the EU

By: Louise Smith, barrister - Updated: 26 May 2017 | *Discuss

 

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The UK’s Conservative Party has said that it is part of their immigration policy to apply “transitional controls” to immigrants from all new EU member states in the future.

Basic Rules on EU Workers Within the EU

Workers from EU countries are entitled to receive equal treatment to the citizens of any other EU country in which they are seeking or undertaking work. (There are some exceptions to this rule - for example, in relation to public sector jobs.) This has always been the default position for EU workers in the UK. However, the rules may differ depending on the particular country of origin and when that country entered the EU.

Transitional Restrictions on Workers from New EU Members

Until 2006 the existing Member States were allowed to impose any restrictions they felt were appropriate, without having to justify them to the European Commission. From 2006 Member States were required to notify the Commission if they wished to continue with restrictions and from 2009 the Commission would have to be persuaded that any continuing restrictions were justified. From May 2011 onwards it will cease to be permissible under EU law for any restrictions to be placed on workers from the Accession States.

Past Experience of EU Workers in the UK

Some people felt that the influx of workers to the UK from the countries which joined the EU in 2004 was damaging to the British labour market in that it reduced the number of UK jobs available to British workers. Indeed, most other European countries imposed restrictions on the right of nationals of the Accession States to work. When two more countries – Bulgaria and Romania – joined the EU in 2007 far greater restrictions were imposed on their entitlement to work in the UK. Whilst nationals of these two countries were entitled to come and live in the UK, they were generally required to obtain a work permit and an accession worker card before they could work in the UK. Similar restrictions were also placed on the families of Bulgarian and Romanian workers.

The Coalition Government’s Policies on EU Workers

Several countries - including Turkey, Iceland, Albania and Serbia – are currently in the process of applying, or trying to apply, to become part of the EU. The UK may now be less economically attractive to workers than it was to citizens of the Accession States back in 2004. However, the mere prospect of workers from these countries flooding the British labour market when the UK economy is struggling to emerge from recession and unemployment is high might send a shiver down the spines of voters and politicians alike. The Conservative dominated Coalition Government will undoubtedly do anything it can within the legal parameters to prevent a further onslaught of foreign workers from new EU members.

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