Over half of UK businesses believe they don't have enough information to start making decisions about their post-Brexit recruitment strategy, according to a ‘Brexit Tracker’ which is part of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) and The Adecco Group’s Labour Market Outlook Summer 2018 report.

The tracker also showed that 44% of businesses are not undertaking any action related to their workforce yet. 

The Adecco Group and the CIPD said it has previously seen a steady rise in the number of businesses who feel they have enough information to start making post-Brexit plans. This quarter, however, saw the first drop since the report's inception, with 29% of UK businesses confident about the amount of information they have.

The region with the least confidence in making decisions around Brexit is Scotland, with only 25% of respondents feeling like they have enough information to make post-Brexit recruitment decisions. Organisations in the Midlands (35%) feel the most confident. London comes in third, at 33%, after the South of England (34%). The report added that the number of businesses which have carried out talent management or recruitment strategy reviews failed to rise for the first time, staying at 13% since last quarter.

Meanwhile, 29% of respondents say they will not be affected by future EU immigration policy. This figure has remained constant over the course of the Brexit tracker, varying between 28% and 30%.

Alex Fleming, Country Head and President of Staffing and Solutions, The Adecco Group UK and Ireland, commented "Our (Brexit) tracker shows that post-Brexit recruitment planning is coming to a standstill because businesses don't have enough information to make informed plans. It is still yet to be seen whether the Government's recent Brexit strategy whitepaper will create an uplift in certainty. We suggest that businesses take the initiative now, and start planning for a variety of Brexit outcomes."

The most popular response to Brexit, and has remained so across all five Brexit trackers, is for employers to actively discuss Brexit with their workforce. The report found that 19% employers have done so.

"Those organisations that openly talk about Brexit to their workforce are better placed to understand the make-up of their teams, and areas that might be of concern after the UK leaves the EU,” Fleming said. “This is the best way to prepare for inevitable change, against the backdrop of external uncertainty. Learn about your own workforce, and how Brexit might impact you; this will help regardless of the shape Brexit will ultimately take."

The report had responses from 2,001 HR professionals and senior decision-makers with the figures having been weighted and are representative of UK business by size, sector and industry.