Bacta calls for UK to ease requirements for foreign workers amid labour shortage

The gaming hall trade association has called for gaming jobs to be put on the list of shortage occupations.

UK.- One of the results of the UK’s exit from the European Union has been a shortage of labour, and that’s been affecting the gaming hall sector. The trade association Bacta has now added its voice to calls for the government to ease requirements for foreign workers to help correct the situation.

Bacta CEO John White has written to the government encouraging it to add jobs in the hospitality sector to the list of shortage occupations, a move that would make it easier for people from outside of the UK to apply for jobs.

The call echoes opinions from the wider hospitality and leisure sectors, which have urged the government to review its immigration rules and the skills it demands of foreign workers. Last year, the government introduced a short visa scheme for construction workers but rejected calls for hospitality visas.

Bacta believes the UK labour crisis is a result of Brexit combined with the Covid-19 pandemic, which led many foreign workers in the hospitality industry to leave the UK. He said the situation is made worse by a view that the “UK is no longer an attractive proposition for a variety of reasons, not least the cost-of-living crisis, employment opportunities, and the bureaucracy involved in obtaining work visas.”

White added: “From a business perspective, the free movement of people was a godsend; however, it was not what the population voted for in 2016 and it’s unlikely to return. The big challenge for this and future governments is to identify how to replicate the benefits of free movement and balance the outcome with the political imperative of demonstrating that the UK has control of its borders.”

White’s call comes shortly after he gave feedback on the UK gambling review. The association has defended the 50/50 gaming machine ratio proposed by the government’s gambling white paper. Critics had raised concerns that it would lead to a sharp increase in the number of high-street gaming machines.

The current ratio for bingo halls and gaming arcades, classed as adult gaming centres, is 20 Category B machines for 80 Category C and D machines. However, amid its review of gambling legislation, the UK government has proposed changing the permitted ratio to 50/50.