IT workers claim foreign workers stealing British jobs

British IT workers claim that a legal loophole has resulted in them losing out on jobs which are instead given to cheap foreign labour. The controversial scheme involves highly qualified IT employees

The easy route to Britain apparently exists under the Intra-company transfer scheme where a loophole surrounding immigration exists. Critics have panned the scheme which they claim has also had a damaging effect on Britain’s agricultural workforce as it allows unskilled workers an easy passage into the UK.

It is the IT sector which has felt the pinch of the transfer visa scheme most severely, as firms such as BT and Capgemini bring in overseas labour at a fraction of local costs. The majority of transfer visa applicants are from India where British companies have long outsourced services to reduce costs. 50,000 transfer visas are issued every year with around two thirds being given to telecommunications and IT professionals. Indian nationals make up approximately 70% of this figure.

The scheme stipulates that any foreign staff must have been employed by the company for a minimum period of six months and that they do not take the position of a permanent British staff member, which is easily achieved when the company is based offshore. Theoretically, employers are required to pay matching wages to those paid to British nationals in the same employment although the role need not be advertised locally and successful applicants are allowed to settle in the UK upon the completion of their contract.

The scheme was designed to bring in foreign expertise to the UK but most new arrivals are at entry level. Experienced IT staff claim the system is perpetuating the problems it set out to address and that British IT staff are now finding it nigh on impossible to be recruited ahead of foreign workers.