UK government scraps EU Settled Status fee in ‘huge relief’ for sector

British pubs and breweries will save thousands of pounds after the government decided to rule out a post-Brexit policy where EU workers must pay a fee in order to stay in the UK.

(Photo: Maxim Fesenko/iStock)

Brigid Simmonds, the head of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said that that the decision to scrap a settled status fee will be a “huge relief” to business owners after it was tabled last year as a means to control migration after the country’s break from the European Union.

Initially, adults coming to the UK from Europe were to be charged £65 per person to claim settled status, while their dependants would be charged £32.50.

For a family of two adults and two children, this comes to £195. Industry body UKHospitality estimates that the decision to scrap the fee will save EU workers and their families living in the UK around £20 million.

“Brewers and pubs employ as much as 24% of their workforce from overseas, rising to 40% in metropolitan areas and in some roles, such as kitchen staff, up to 80%,” Simmonds said.

“Already, companies have seen the number of EU workers in our sector decline. As a result, many companies were prepared to pay the cost of settled status for their colleagues who had committed to staying. This is a good decision and supports vital employees in pubs and across the hospitality sector.”

A number of pub and hospitality groups had said they would pay settled status fees for their Euoropean staff in order to limit disorder within their own workforces after Brexit. Oakman Inns had announced plans to swallow the cost for its EU workforce on New Year’s Eve, while Patrick Dardis, the CEO of pub and brewing business Young’s, said the firm would pay the fees for its 1,800 workers last week to “continue making staff feel welcome.”

Italian restaurant chain Carluccio’s also pledged to pay for the settled status of its 1,550 members of staff from the EU, with chief executive Mark Jones adding it would have been something the group’s founder,Antonio Carluccio, would have supported.

Jones said there would be “no Carluccio’s without one man making the journey from Europe to London.”

Under the EU Settlement Scheme, only people who have lived in the UK for five years or more would be eligible to apply for settled status. Any EU nationals who have lived in the UK for less time would also be able to apply for pre-settled status until they had stayed in the country for five years. The scheme is set to launch on 30 March.

“Whilst this doesn’t deal with the need to ‘apply’ rather than ‘register’ to remain in their jobs and homes it is at least a welcome first display of goodwill to EU Nationals who are making such a huge contribution to the UK,” Oakman Inns’ chief Peter Borg-Neal said.

EU nationals make up just over a quarter of Oakman’s workforce, the pub boss said, adding that the group would be “unable to contemplate further growth” if they were forced to leave their jobs in the UK.

“We estimate that we will need around 1,000 new team members over the next twelve months to take part in our expansion and to replace leavers,” he said. “There is no way we could meet that requirement from British citizens alone.”

Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of industry body UKHospitality, said that May’s decision would provide “peace of mind for many EU citizens working in the UK’s hospitality sector planning for their futures.”