Foreign Ministry warns Hungarian job-seekers against Britain

hursday, 12 March 2009
Budapest, March 12 (MTI) - Hungary's Foreign Ministry has advised Hungarian job-seekers to duly reconsider accepting jobs in the United Kingdom, foreign affairs spokesman Lajos Szelestey said in an advisory sent to MTI on Thursday.

The ongoing economic crisis has hit Britain even harder than the other European Union member states. The number of jobs has declined "drastically", and the rate of unemployment there is twice as high as the European average. It happens that big companies lay off thousands of employees overnight, the spokesman said.

The chances of entering the British labour market "has fallen to zero". What is more, employers often refuse to pay the whole wage or violate labour contracts otherwise, Szelestey said.

The ministry issued the advisory after a growing number of Hungarians losing their job or failing to find one had sought assistance from the Hungarian diplomatic mission in Britain, the spokesman said.