The government has agreed to examine proposals to tighten
the work permit system by imposing tougher requirements for
companies to advertise for IT professionals in the UK before going
overseas for staff.
Government officials told a meeting of employers and trade unions
last week that they would consider proposals that businesses should
be forced to place recruitment advertisements for UK-based staff in
well-known publications and websites before transferring staff from
overseas.
The news came as Work Permits (UK), the government agency that
administers the scheme, confirmed plans to commission a rapid
independent review of the work permit system, in the wake of rising
concerns about abuse.
Trade unions and contractors' representatives claim that
unscrupulous firms are exploiting the scheme by placing recruitment
adverts in obscure journals and websites and then claiming they are
unable to find staff with the right skills in the UK.
They said they were unhappy that the number of overseas IT staff
brought to the UK under the intracompany transfer scheme had risen
from 2,952 to 3,113 at a time of high IT unemployment.