The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union means another set of rules for employers to get to grips with.

Unlike nationals from other EU member states, Romanians and Bulgarians face working restrictions in low-skilled jobs.

The restrictions do not apply to skilled workers who, if they have the right qualifications and experience, will be allowed to enter the UK on work permits to take up specific jobs where no suitable UK applicants can be found.

Romanian and Bulgarian workers with particularly high levels of skills and experience will continue to be admitted under the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme.

Students will be able to work part-time but will need a work authorisation document to do so. The self-employed will also be able to work in the UK provided they can prove they are genuinely self-employed.

But low-skilled migration from Bulgaria and Romania will be restricted to sectors such as agriculture and food processing, where low-skilled schemes already exist. In the first year, immigration will be limited to 20,000 people. The restrictions will be reviewed after 12 months but fines of up to £5,000 can be imposed on employers who breach them.

Unlike the central European states which joined the EU in 2004, Romanian and Bulgarian workers will not be required to take part in the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS).

However, the WRS still applies to nationals from Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and employers are still responsible for ensuring workers from these countries have registered within 30 days of finding employment.

More information can be found on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate website