The number of UK entry-level and support roles being moved overseas has surged 300% since the latest minimum wage increase took effect, according to new data from London-based offshoring firm The Legends Agency. The figures, comparing April 2026 with the same month a year earlier, point to the wage rise acting as a tipping point for British businesses already absorbing higher employer National Insurance, weak growth, and rising overheads.
Read the full article on Labour Home: UK Employment Crisis? Minimum Wage Hike Spurs 300% Surge in Offshoring
South Africa is the main destination. UK firms moving work overseas are increasingly drawing on remote talent there, where lower salaries and living costs allow staffing expenditure to be cut by up to 50%. Clients range from small startups to multinationals.
The functions being offshored are concentrated in the very roles that traditionally serve as the first rung of the career ladder. Sales and business development account for 21% of all offshored roles, followed by customer support at 12%, administration and executive assistance at 10%, design at 9%, marketing at 7%, finance and accounting at 7%, and technology and engineering at 6%. Demand is also spreading into less typical areas, including legal services, healthcare, and back-office work in construction and hospitality.
The offshoring boom arrives at a volatile moment for the UK labour market. The headline unemployment rate stands at 4.9% according to ONS data, but that figure masks a far sharper picture for younger workers, with unemployment among 16- to 24-year-olds running at 15.8%. The trend is projected to worsen: a landmark review published today by Alan Milburn warns that the number of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEETs) could reach 1.25 million by the early 2030s.
The concern is that the jobs young people typically rely on to enter the workforce, entry-level sales, support, and administration, are precisely the ones now moving offshore.
Alex Fenton, Group CEO of The Legends Agency, said he welcomes the minimum wage increase but warned ministers should be honest about the pressure it adds to employers already dealing with higher National Insurance, weak growth, and AI-driven disruption. He said the entry-level roles young people depend on to get a foot on the career ladder are the ones most likely to move overseas, adding that if the government wants better-paid jobs in Britain, it has to make it more affordable for businesses to create them domestically.
