England: Law Society welcomes £30,000 salary threshold for migrants

The Law Society has welcomed what it called the “measured” proposals put forward by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) in its report on skilled migration and is pleased that the report reflects some recommendations by the Law Society.

The MAC’s main recommendation is to increase the salary threshold to £30,000 for skilled workers and intra-company transferees coming to the UK from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

The Law Society in its submission to the MAC argued that, if London is to retain its position as a global centre of legal excellence, international law firms based in the UK must continue to be able to recruit skilled lawyers from outside the UK.

It also proposed salary levels as a practical way of identifying highly skilled expert workers, as they inherently reflect market shortages in skills and the economic value of the work being done.

Law Society president Jonathan Smithers said: “The legal services sector contributes £23.8bn to the UK economy each year. Much of that economic value is generated by international law firms operating in a competitive global marketplace. It is vital to the economy that the UK remains the leading global centre for the provision of international legal services and dispute resolution.

“Lawyers who come to the UK from outside the EEA are highly-qualified people who make a significant contribution to the domestic economy through business generation, salary expenditure, tax revenue and the creation of support roles. They bring skills that supplement and create opportunities for the resident labour market.

“We welcome the MAC’s reference to salary as a simple way of assessing skills shortage in areas, such as the legal sector. We are concerned that other recommendations will have the effect of placing even greater pressure on the annual cap for Tier 2 migrants, which is already under extreme pressure. Businesses require certainty in their recruitment processes.

“Domestic hires are already significantly cheaper and easier than international appointments, so the financial incentive in terms of recruitment costs is already there. Firms are not incurring these costs without careful assessment of the business case.”