News

July 29, 2016

Fears about job security rise after EU referendum

The UK's decision to leave the EU has left many employees feeling vulnerable about their job security, a new CIPD survey has revealed.

The CIPD/People Management survey has found that since the referendum, 36% of employers said staff had expressed concerns about job security and a further 36% said that non-UK employees had expressed concern about their continuing right to work in the UK.

The survey also highlights evidence of increased workplace tension and division as a result of the vote to leave the EU, with almost one in ten (8%) of respondents saying incidents had been reported.

Ben Willmott, CIPD head of public policy, said: "There is no doubt the vote to leave the UK has had a significant impact on the workplace with many people worrying about their future employment prospects. This is especially true of non-UK nationals, with many clearly concerned about their ability to continue to live and work in the UK after the vote. The Government needs to clearly set out their plans at the earliest opportunity for non-UK citizens to give those workers the clarity and security that they are seeking."

The news comes as ONS statistics show that the UK economy performed more strongly than expected just before the referendum, growing by 0.6% in the three months to the end of June; it means growth was 2.2% on an annual basis. Joe Grice, ONS chief economist, said: "Any uncertainties in the run-up to the referendum seem to have had a limited effect."

In addition, the latest labour market statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also show that employment actually rose in the three months to May this year by 176,000 with unemployment falling by 54,000.

Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: "The fall in the unemployment rate shows that the UK's labour market continues to be a bright spot for the UK economy. The rise in employment echoes our own survey data and shows that, before the EU referendum, businesses were confident enough to hire and grow despite the softening economic environment. Now that the UK has voted to leave the EU, businesses face new uncertainty in the transition to new economic and political arrangements."

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