Indian IT firms transfer large number of workers to UK

Call for tightening of rules on intra-company transfers

James Brockett

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Publication date: 7 December 2009

Source:

PM Online

Indian technology companies are bringing large numbers of non-EU workers to work in Britain without having to consider UK candidates first, according to figures revealed by the Home Office.

IT firms from the Indian subcontinent dominate the list of the largest users of intra-company transfers, revealed after a freedom of information request by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (Apsco). They make up seven out of 10 of the firms who transferred the most staff to the UK last year, with Tata Consulting Services (4,465 staff transferred) topping the list and Infosys (3,030) and Wipro (2,530) not far behind.

While perfectly legal, intra-company transfers are controversial in that they give an exemption from immigration rules requiring employers to advertise positions in the UK first. Apsco argues that the rules should be tightened to help IT graduates in the UK and stop firms bringing in staff “on an industrial scale”.

Ann Swain, chief executive of Apsco, said: “There is no requirement for companies to tap the UK labour market before transferring workers from overseas. This a major loophole that the government has failed to close.”

But the employers say that overseas transfers are needed to plug skills gaps that cannot be filled in the UK. Tata Consulting told the Financial Times that intra-company transfers were not a “cheap option” and that workers were brought in for specific projects, usually returning home after around 18 months.

The government is set to tighten rules that prevent staff from settling in the UK after being transferred, but has defended the principle of transfers. Transferred staff must be paid a UK equivalent salary.

Immigration minister Phil Woolas said: “Intra-company transfers are an important part of making the UK an attractive place in which to do business, and therefore keep industry and the economy moving.”