The Intra Company Transfers (ICT) regulations are
beingabused on a massive scaleby
businesses attempting to get low-cost IT workers from overseas,
according to the Professional Contractors Group (PCG).
The PCG said that since launching a campaign in May, it has been
receiving up to 20 emails a day from membersalerting it to abuses
of the ICT regulation.
The organisation has had a massive response to the
campaign and
website set up to highlight abuses of the system, which is
seeing UK IT contractors replaced by Indian workers.
The ICT system was originally set up to enable companies to get
visas for workers with specialist knowledge. This circumvents the
need to advertise the role in the UK. But workers withskills
neededin the UK are being brought in large numbers, with UK IT
workers
being affected more than other sectors.
The PCG said 35,430 non-EU IT workers came into the UK last
year, with 80% of these using the intra-company transfer system
which does not require the sponsoring company to advertise the
vacancy in the UK first.
"We know that out of all ICT work permits, a disproportionately
large majority are given to workers in the IT industry," said the
PCG.