Migrants from outside the European Economic Area will no longer be allowed to work in the UK as chefs in takeaway restaurants, the government has said.

The ruling comes after the Migration Advisory Committee (Mac) was asked to review the country's skill shortages.

A similar ban will apply to workers such as hairdressers, beauty salon managers and estate agents from April.

The number of skilled migrants not from the European Economic Area is being capped annually at 21,700.
Sheep shearers

The Home Office has already announced that only graduate-level non-European Economic Area (EEA) workers will be allowed to apply to come to the UK.

Now it has reduced the list of jobs where there is a skills shortage in the UK to eight occupations, including senior care workers, sheep shearers and pipe welders, following advice from the the UK Border Agency's Mac.

Chefs will need to have graduate-level qualifications, with a minimum of five years' experience in an equivalent role, and need to earn at least of £28,260 per year after their accommodation and food.

Those from outside the EEA wanting to work in fast food outlets and takeaways will not be allowed in to the UK at all.
'Workforce skills'

Immigration Minister Damian Green: "These changes will allow firms to bring in people with necessary skills without migrants becoming the first resort to fill a wide range of available jobs.

"This government is also determined to get people back to work and provide business with the skills they need from the British workforce - reducing the need for migrants at the same time as we reduce their number."

The government wants to cut net migration from about 200,000 a year to tens of thousands by 2015.

The EEA comprises countries in the European Union and European Free Trade Association.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12733899

Sounds like a weaker version of the Oz method (as I've heard it described )...

So the Tories are going to try to solve the jobs vacuum by banning chefs and sheep-shearers?

That logic's not got any flaws in it....

[/sarcasm]

Well, my understanding is we need those sheep-shearers. Like, right now. Time is of the essence

We will in 3 months.

Tbh, I'm amazed we still have farms

You're closer to the truth than you realise.

No no, I'm a Private Eye reader

Yay, save all the sh!t jobs for all of us EU citizens who really want them.

This Government gets more laughable by the day with its two bit stupid ideas.

We don't. But now Tory boy can say there's a shortage and force people to take them rather than staying on the dole. After all, why have people who want to do the job doing it, when you can have to someone who is being blackmailed into doing it instead. After all, they're always really motivated.

Jon

This is about driving down wage expectations and living standards of workers, just wait until this becomes standard for all but the elite. Then don't cry that you did not vote for this, because you did.

or a different view point. If we have uneployment in the UK, shouldnt we be doing as much as possible to get those people into jobs. Rather than getting people from overseas.

I see your point but it's a bit depressing being encouraged to get into tens of thousands of pounds in debt to get a degree and then to end up working in a chippy...

In that scenario you wouldnt be paying back those debts and they would be writen off (eventually).
The good old days of having a free, heavily subsidize higher education where you could walk into a well paid career are long gone.

Isn't the plan to get people off benefits?
For a majority of people on benefits these low paid jobs are (without sounding snobby, but probably failing at it) more or less all they're going to be able to get without thousands of pounds of training.

Yes but to get those unemployed Brits into work they have got to lower their expectations. They will be cutting benefits soon, like Ireland has though the problem will be that the only jobs being created will be minimum wage jobs and you cannot support a family on that. So it will soon become a vicious spiral of wage and benefits cuts which will everyone eventually.