Recruiting staff from Europe
There may be a number of reasons why you as an employer in Northern Ireland may need to recruit staff from the EEA/EU.
European Employment Services (EURES) can offer you help and support. Working in partnership with the European Commission and all the Public Employment Services throughout Europe. There is no charge for this service.
We can:
- Advertise your vacancy on www.employersonlineni.com
which enables you to record and manage your own vacancy details online. - Have your vacancy placed on www.jobcentreonline.com and similtaneously on www.eures.europa.eu
- Link you to a database of European vacancies.
- Provide information on EEA labour markets.
- Arrange video conferencing interviews with candidates in other EEA member states.
- Promote your vacancies at ‘Job Fairs’ in EEA Member States.
- Invite employers to exhibit at ‘Job Fairs’.
- We may be able to organise a specific recruitment project for you and accompany you to hold interviews in another Member State.
Workers Registration Scheme (WRS)
Workers from 8 (A8) (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) of the 10 new countries who joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, are required to register within one month of starting work in the UK.
Applications for registration are the responsibility of the individual. Application forms and Guidance Packs can be ordered from the Home Office on 0870 521 0224 or downloaded from the Schemes and Programmes link at www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk The registration fee is £90.
If you recruit a worker from one of the A8 countries, to enable him/her to apply for registration, you must ensure that the individual is provided with either a contract or letter on company paper showing:
- place of work
- position held
- wage
- hours worked
- start date
As an employer you should take and retain a copy of the completed application form as evidence that the individual has applied for registration within one month. Following approval the Home Office Registration Team will send you a copy of the Registration certificate which you should retain.
WRS does not apply to self-employed workers, however, they must register with the Inland Revenue on 0845 915 4515 as soon as they start work in the UK.
For further information contact the Home Office Registration Team on 0114 207 6022 or log on to www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
From 1st January 2007, as European Economic Area (EEA) nationals, Bulgarians and Romanians will be able to move and reside freely in any EU Member State. They will not require leave to enter or remain to reside legally in the UK. Bulgarian and Romanian nationals wanting to work in the UK will still need to obtain authorisation to work before starting any employment, unless they are exempt from doing so.
This authorisation will normally take the form of an Accession worker card. For certain categories of employment, the Bulgarian or Romanian national will be able to apply to the Home Office for an Accession worker card without the need for an employer to apply for a work permit. These categories are:
- (a) Airport based operational ground staff of an overseas airline
- (b) “Au pair” placements
- (c) Domestic workers in a private household
- (d) Ministers of religion, missionaries or members of a religious order
- (e) Overseas government employment
- (f) Postgraduate doctors, dentists and trainee general practitioners
- (g) Private servants in a diplomatic household
- (h) Representatives of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation
- (i) Sole representatives
- (j) Teachers or language assistants
- (k) Overseas qualified nurses coming for a period of supervised practice
If the employment does not fall into one of these categories, the process for obtaining authorisation to work is in two stages:
- The UK employer first applies for approval of the employment under the work permit arrangements.
- The Bulgarian and Romanian national must then apply for an Accession worker card.
For more details log onto www.uk.ba.homeoffice.gov.uk
Further guidance for employers is available from the employer helpline on Tel: 0845 010 6677 or at www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk or www.employingmigrantworkers.org.uk