UNISON urged all employers to pay the £65 fee for their staff who are citizens of other EU countries and apply for ‘settled status’ to stay in the UK after Brexit on 29 March 2019.
The UK government is rolling out a pilot on the settled status registration scheme this month, based on employment. On 15 November, staff in higher education across the UK become the latest group of EU citizens able to apply under the pilot.
Applicants will also need a valid passport or, if they are the non-EU family members of EU citizens, a biometric residence card.
But because the pilot is based around employment and specific employers, UNISON is asking branches to ask those employers to pay the fee and raise the issue through their collective bargaining machinery, including formally writing to them.
UNISON reps across Lincolnshire have successfully ensured that United Lincolnshire Hospital NHS Trust, Lincolnshire Community Health service and Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust have all agreed to pay the fee for staff.