The PCG, the trade association for more than 14,000 small businesses, mainly in the IT and engineering sectors, is preparing a dossier of examples of such abuse to present to the Government which it claims show that large companies are using the scheme to replace UK IT workers with overseas workers under the guise of the skill-shortage legislation - even though the skills are plentiful in the UK.
The so-called Fast Track Visa scheme is intended to operate at several levels to meet a 'known' skills gap within the UK or to transfer essential workers from overseas offices. However, the PCG says it has evidence that this system is being abused by some companies who are importing cheap labour to cut their own costs and replace similarly-qualified UK workers who are then made redundant or have contracts terminated.
Jane Akshar, Chairman of the Professional Contractor Group, said:
"This scheme is being used as a skills replacement, not to meet a skill shortage. That cannot be what this Government wants. At the moment, the IT sector is in the doldrums - many qualified IT workers are unemployed or out of contract. But the Government's skill-shortage list allows companies to import these skills at exceptionally low rates and in many cases, the workers are not eligible to pay any tax in the UK, while UK workers are already qualified for these roles.
"The problem is that the Government's justification for this scheme is out-of-date. Some of its evidence for skill shortages is based on research dating back more than two years when there was high-demand in the IT sector and the dot.com companies were booming - that is no longer the case. But some large companies are using this to their own advantage.
"Anyone who is close to the IT world knows that this sector is in recession - up to one in three contractors are out of contract at the moment; IT rates are being slashed; almost weekly there are reports of IT workers losing their jobs; and recruitment agencies are consistently reporting a huge down-turn in the sector. These are not the signs of an industry with a 'skill shortage'.
"Also, we are aware that the scheme to allow companies to transfer workers between countries is being abused. We have heard of cases where 'sham' companies have been established just to provide a base for 'transfer'."
The PCG set up an on-line reporting system for its members and others in the IT field to identify examples where the system is being abused. The first tranche of these abuses are now being handed to Government.