BASDA responds to Migration Advisory Committee consultation

• To provide career development for senior executives and employees seen as high potentials.

• To work on specific projects. Most global companies have skilled resource pools which they deploy across the world as necessary. It is not efficient to replicate skills in every country or region.

In general developmental assignments typically last 2 – 3 years and the employee returns to their home location. The project based assignments last about 6 – 12 months and the employee returns home. In all cases they remain on home country payroll.

Any move to restrict ICT Tier 2 permits to only those jobs on the shortage occupations list will have a negative impact on the UK economy and will be detrimental to the IT Industry’s ability to do business.

The project based employees bring specialist skills to UK projects and allow companies to resource their projects efficiently. Restricting the ability to bring these specialists to the UK will have the effect of encouraging employers to work offshore with the resulting negative impact on UK resident workers.

ICTs are central to the manner in which many companies carry out business and as transferred workers are fully familiar with the company systems etc they are highly effective resources.

Using non UK resources is not a cheap alternative to UK labour. Current UK immigration rules require that companies pay assignees the prevailing rate for the role i.e. what a UK worker would earn according to UK Border Agency tables. In addition to this accommodation costs are paid and where applicable UK income tax and National Insurance are paid.

Depriving organisations of the ability to bring ICTs to the UK could potentially force them to move work outside the UK. As the work they do is not already done by UK resident workers there is no adverse effect on the local labour market. In fact it would have the opposite effect – UK companies would not grow and the work would be done elsewhere in Europe.

The conceptual paper and further information on the MAC is available on the Home Office website