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Commercial Angles' Newsletter - August 2001

Work Permits

The administration of work permit applications was moved from the Department for Education and Employment to the Home Office on 11 June 2001. Formerly known as the Overseas Labour Service, it is now known as Work Permits (UK) and is part of the Home Office's Immigration and Nationality Directorate. The move to the Home Office will probably improve communications, the effectiveness of which has been criticised in the past.

Work Permits (UK) is working on a number of new procedures to improve the service. The objective of the unit is to strike the right balance between enabling employers to fill skilled positions whilst protecting job opportunities for residents. An appeals section has already been set up to establish a more uniform decision making process and to investigate allegations about false applications. The appeals team will also check work permits already issued and cover key policy issues.

Who may apply for a work permit?

Separate departments in Belfast, Douglas, St.Peter Port and St.Helier, applying different procedures, consider applications from employers wishing to employ overseas workers in Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

Only employers based in Great Britain who wish to employ in Great Britain someone from outside the European Economic Area, (EEA), may apply to Work Permits (UK). Employers based in England, Scotland or Wales may apply for a work permit no more than three months, (although the guidance notes say six months), before they want the overseas worker to start work. Overseas employers cannot apply for work permits unless they have a UK presence, in which case the UK branch may make an application. Individuals, recruitment agencies and employment agencies cannot apply for work permits.

Who needs a work permit?

Within the Immigration Rules there are certain categories of people who may enter UK and seek employment without a work permit. These include some foreign nationals who have retained their rights to British citizenship through British ancestry. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate in Croydon will advise on this issue. Citizens of the EEA countries may also work in UK without a work permit: the EEA countries are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and UK. Otherwise a work permit is normally required.

Categories of work permit

Work permit applications may be made under three main categories:

Business and commercial.
Sportspeople and entertainers.
Training and work experience scheme.

Work Permits (UK) may also give permission to multi-national employers to provide internships in UK to overseas employees studying at an institution outside UK.

Business and commercial work permits

Positions for which work permits are sought are classified by occupations into different tiers. Tier 1 occupations are those for which the government has acknowledged that a shortage of qualified individuals exists in UK. Applications for work permits for Tier 1 occupations will normally be accepted without delay if the employer can prove its need for the position and the overseas worker can prove his/her educational qualifications and experience. Tier 1 occupations include:

electronic and opto-electronic engineers,
skilled healthcare workers - doctors, nurses , pharmacists, veterinary surgeons etcetera,
Information Technology Communication and Electronics workers, including programmers, analysts, software engineers, IT specialists, and
a few other categories such as actuaries, aircraft engineers and teachers/trainers for the Greater London area.

Applicants for work permits for occupations not in Tier 1 will have to satisfy Work Permits (UK) that they have actively tried to recruit from within the resident population but have been unsuccessful.

How does an employer apply for a work permit in Great Britain?

Application may be made by completing form WP1 and sending it by mail or by completing a form online. Extensive notes on how to complete form WP1 are available for download from the Work Permits (UK) web site. The notes also explain the procedure for extending the duration of a work permit or allowing an individual working in Great Britain under permit to change his/her employment.

Code of Practice

The Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 made it an offence for an employer to knowingly employ individuals who do not have the right to work in Great Britain. However, concerns were expressed that this threat was causing employers to discriminate against potential recruits on racial grounds. A code of practice was introduced in May 2001 through the Immigration (Restrictions on Employment) (Code of Practice) Order 2001 (1436). The purpose of the code of practice is to strengthen the safeguards against racial discrimination. Failure to observe the code, whilst not a breach of the law, may be used as evidence in proceedings under the Race Relations Act 1975.

Registration of Immigration Advisers

The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, (OISC), is an independent public body set up to regulate immigration advice and services. It is an offence to provide immigration advice or services without being registered by OISC. Employers or their staff who provide immigration advice to their employees have been exempted from the need to register with OISC until 31 January 2002. After that date employers offering such advice may perhaps be required to register with OISC.

Articles from previous newsletters