Information for employers
The RSMP works with employers across the region from all sectors to support the recruitment of individuals from migrant backgrounds, to help assess and amend hiring practices, and to help employers achieve their goal of a more representative workforce.
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RSMP Offer to Employers
Our Employment Project Manager will work alongside your business to assist with migrant talent attraction. They can assess your recruitment requirements and ensure that your Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and recruitment policies are accessible to those from forced migrant backgrounds as well as support you to create a workforce that represents the people and area you serve. They can promote your vacancies via a jobs mailing list to charities, Councils and directly to migrants themselves.
The Employment Project Manager engages with business and industry networks across the region, utilising these opportunities to drive forward the RSMP’s priorities around migrant employment. We also utilise these spaces to showcase our partner employers best practice and share learning.
This is a funded project, with no cost to your business.
Please email [email protected] for more information.
Benefits of migrant employment
There are many benefits associated when one attracts people of a migrant background into your organisation. Here are just a few reasons.
- Boosts community investment to the local area. Could reflect the communities that you serve.
- New skills, ideas and global knowledge. Can aid innovation and future business planning.
- refugee employees often have higher retention rates compared to non-refugee employees (Ipsos Mori unveils new trends in refugee employment – Helping refugees find meaningful employment (breaking-barriers.co.uk)
Right to work information for employers
If you are employing a person with a forced migrant background then their Right to Work evidence is normally in the form of share codes. You can ask the candidate to share this and check it using the view and prove your immigration status: get a share code on the GOV.UK website.
Please only seek a DBS for an employee if absolutely necessary. You can ask your candidate for a Criminal Overseas check. Further information on criminal records checks for overseas applicants is available on GOV.UK. Please note that this may be difficult to obtain if the employees home country does not have a functioning government due to war and conflict.
Real Living Wage
Talent attraction is imperative in appealing to people of a migrant background. The Real Living wage is reflective of the cost of living in the UK. As of October 2023, the hourly rate is £12 outside of London.
Employers can find more information and become accredited by visiting the Living Wage Foundation website.
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships can be appealing to people of a forced migrant background because there is an offer of training and gaining work experience at an entry level. There are also no age restrictions on apprenticeships.
The UK Government Apprenticeships website will offer you advice on how you can offer an apprenticeship in your organisation.
Candidates are eligible for an apprenticeship if they have resided in the UK for three years or they have refugee status or a Ukrainian visa.
Dealing with discrimination matters in the workplace
As an employer, the first aspect of your workplace to protect colleagues and yourself against discrimination claims, is to assess your EDI and Dignity at work HR policies.
If you do want to seek advice from an external organisation, we would encourage you to read the below link from the Equality Human Rights Commission.
Dealing with discrimination as an employer | EHRC (equalityhumanrights.com)
If things escalate further, please contact the Arbitration and Conciliation service, Acas.org.uk | Making working life better for everyone in Britain