EU migrants may not be able to claim work-benefits after the completion of Brexit negotiations. They need to be working in Great Britain for the last four years to claim the benefits. The suggestion of stopping EU migrants from claiming benefits is still in plans. However, it is not clear when will this apply. The British Government plans to implement this limitation for EU migrants entering the UK post-March 2019.
EU Migrants Contribution to Britain
The British Government wants to make sure that the EU migrants have significantly contributed to the country. Otherwise, they cannot claim their work-benefits.
However, this is not the only plan in works. There is another plan rumored to be offering greater flexibility to the EU migrants. Under this plan, the workers from the EU can claim their work benefits. They do not need to worry about their employment status and only have to fulfill the requirement of four years.
EU Migrants Entering into the UK Post-Brexit
Theresa May’s government has unveiled the plan, not requiring the EU migrants to have a visa. They will be able to enter the UK without any visa. The plan is part of a 28-page document revealing the government’s strategy for Northern Ireland for Brexit negotiations. Similarly, the European nationals will be able to enter through other ports without the need for a visa.
Brexit supporters are happy that this new step will be helpful for the EU migrants looking for job opportunities. They believe the UK’s employment system will still require them to obtain work permits. So, they will not be able to work without having work permits.
EU Migrants Access to the UK Benefits System
The entire system of work benefits for the EU migrant is quite complex. There are some factors which count determine the work benefits. Things like if they still have a job, where are they recently employed, the number of work hours each week, and pay structure. Also, the system looks at the genuineness of EU migrants’ effort to find a job.
The EU citizens who have registered themselves as workers can obtain in-work benefits. Typical work benefits include housing and tax credits. However, the work they are doing must fall into the category of “genuine and effective.”
So What is Genuine and Effective?
This condition of work to be effective and authentic gets satisfied if the person is earning at least £155 per week.
In some cases, the EU law does give flexibility to governments to deny welfare benefits to EU migrants. They can be denied work benefits if they cannot be classified as workers. One example is the people who have recently come to the UK looking for a job.
Distinction Between “In-Work” and “Out of Work” Benefits
There is a clear difference between the British Government relating to in-work and out of work benefits.
Out of Work Benefits
People seeking out of work benefits include these two categories.
- Those individuals who are out of work but are actively looking to get a job.
- People who are not able to work due to some physical incapacity.
In-Work Benefits
In-work benefits are given to those individuals who have jobs but earn low incomes.
There is an evident lack of distinction, and there may be some overlap between in-work and out-of-work benefits. It is problems like these that slow down Britain’s exit from the EU, since the UK has to decide on a lot of these issues.
