UKHospitality has welcomed the launch of a Home Office toolkit providing practical advice on how EU citizens can apply for settled status.
The Government has stated that EU citizens, who are already resident in the UK or move here before 1st January 2021, have the right to remain and work in the UK.
By 30 June 2021, each EU national residing in the UK will need to have applied for settled or pre-settled status to be able to continue to live and work in the UK.
Currently employers check and retain copies of passports/ID cards of EU nationals to establish a statutory excuse against a civil penalty for illegal working.
However, in order to prepare for the 30 June 2021 deadline, employers will need to have checked that their existing employees have acquired either settled or pre-settled status. From 30 June 2021, any new employees will have to provide this evidence of status.
The Home Office has published a communications toolkit to help employers support their EU citizen employees regarding the EU Settlement Scheme.
UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “Dissemination of information to employees is going to be absolutely crucial as we move towards Brexit. Members have consistently told us they need information from Government to reassure their EU staff they are welcome in the UK and so this is a big step forward. Clear communication with EU citizens on how to register themselves and their dependants for settled status is essential.
“Employers are going to play a crucial role in communicating the scheme to their employees and UKHospitality will be supporting its members to ensure the message gets across to the sector.”
The toolkit can be accessed at https://goo.gl/KtqJxR.
