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Legislation Since 1 January 2021, the UK has had a new immigration system, freedom of movement stopped and EU nationals no longer have the automatic right to work in the UK. THE RIGHT TOWORK 24 www.thefis.org T hose workers who moved freely before that date should by now have applied for the right to work in the UK under the settled, or pre-settled status. Those who came to the UK after 1 January 2021, must apply for a work visa. This has massive ramifications for the fit-out sector. Our workforce stands at around 250,000 people. At the beginning of 2019, 40% of those were EU nationals. The sector’s annual recruitment target is 2,500 people just for the workforce strength to remain static and about 40% of these workers traditionally came from the EU, so our annual domestic recruitment target roughly doubles as a flow of EU workers we have relied on stops. It is imperative that employers engage with their workforce now to find out about the progress of their applications for settled or pre-settled status. With the pressure on all employers and their legal responsibility to ensure workers have the correct permissions to work here, comes the heightened risk that some individuals will be manipulated or coerced into illegal working and we have to confront the issue of the linked but completely separate issue of modern slavery. The moral and financial implications of getting it wrong are very serious.