The number of EU nationals leaving jobs at public bodies such as hospital trusts and universities rose by an estimated 15% between 2016 and 2017, according to freedom of information data assembled by a pro second referendum group.
Best for Britain collected data from 82 hospital trusts and 116 universities, among other public bodies, and argues that the figures show public services are being put under extra pressure as a result of the 2016 referendum.
The hospital trusts, all in England, who responded to the freedom of information requests recorded a 22% increase in the number of EU nationals leaving their jobs according to the figures supplied, a “damning indictment” of the Brexit result according to one leading doctor.
Trusts particularly affected at the time include:
University Hospital Southampton NHS trust, which reported that the number of EU nationals leaving its books rose from 161 in 2016 to 226 in 2017, a increase of 40%. It currently employs 1,221 EU nationals.
Guy’s and St Thomas’s trust saw EU leavers rise from 325 to 424, an increase of 30%. It employs 1,999 EU nationals.
The Liverpool-based Walton Centre trust, which specialises in neurology and neurosurgery, reported that the number of EU employees leaving rose from 134 to 172, an increase of 28%.
Clare Gerada, a former chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “This is another damning indictment of the damage Brexit has done to our country. I personally know colleagues who have been let down by the government’s actions and have been forced to leave despite having contributed so much over the years.”
The data shows that there was a marked increase between 2016 and 2017, and that the numbers of EU leavers in 2018 appears to have dropped back to just below 2016 levels, but it is too early to draw conclusions as the data for this year is incomplete.
The NHS relies on foreign workers because only 87.3% of NHS workers in England are British. EU nationals comprise 5.6% of the total, and the proportion rises to 7% of nurses and 10% of doctors.
Meanwhile, data compiled by the Office of National Statistics show that Brexit is having a significant impact on the wider jobs market. The number of EU nationals working in the UK fell by 132,000 to 2.25 million between the third quarter of 2017 and the third quarter of 2018.
The trend is driving job vacancies in the UK to a record high, with an estimated 845,000 unfilled positions. Employers warn that it is getting harder for firms to hire qualified staff.
Best for Britain concentrated on public services, with evidence that the same trend is occurring more broadly. Universities reported a more modest increase of 10% in the number of EU nationals leaving jobs at their institutions; the number of leavers rose by 26% at Manchester university and by 25% at the universities of Cambridge and Glasgow.
A handful of councils responded, with Surrey county council reporting an increase of 72 to 89, up 23%. The only fire authority responding with significant numbers was Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes fire authority, which said the number of EU nationals leaving was up from 71 in 2016 to 98 in 2017.
Green MP Caroline Lucas, who acts as a spokesperson for Best of Britain, argued the figures “demonstrate the scale of damage already being wrought by Brexit”, and blamed Theresa May for not acting quickly enough to guarantee the rights for EU citizens living in the UK.
Citizens rights have been bound up in the EU negotiations, which May is trying to bring to a conclusion, but it took a year after the referendum before the prime minister said EU citizens in the UK would definitely be able to achieve settled status by applying for leave to remain.
Last week May told the CBI that EU citizens would no longer be able to “jump the queue” when the UK sets its own immigration policy after the conclusion of the Brexit transition period, which is currently due to end in 2020 but may be extended.