Changes should be made to migrant worker criteria, says report

The Migration Advisory Committee, has today said that changes need to be made to the criteria for workers who are recruited from abroad, including chefs and cooks.

The government said that immigration plays an important role in the UK economy but that workings of Tier 2 of the Points Based System must be adapted if these employees are to boost the economy.

Recommendations include advertising job vacancies for longer within the UK before looking abroad to fill the post and the report said intra-company transfers should be strengthened.

Current rules state that candidates within tier two cannot work in the UK unless they are a skilled worker with an offer of a job that cannot be filled by someone already settled in the UK.

Employers or sponsors can only look to outside the UK if that particular vacancy is an occupation identified with a skills shortage.

Chefs are on the skills shortage list but there is more criteria. Job vacancies must post the job title as 'skilled chef' and chefs must be paid a minimum of £8.10 per hour after deductions for accommodation, meals, etc.

Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee, Professor David Metcalf said: "In our first analysis of the PBS, the committee thinks that Tier 2 is working well, but our advice to the government is that the labour market could be helped by requiring higher standards from skilled workers outside of the EU before we allow them to work in the UK.

"We believe that selective immigration that favours skilled workers, as the PBS does, is vital to ensure that the UK continues to be a good place to do business or invest.

"However, it is important that British workers are not displaced. We have therefore made a number of recommendations which will help to avoid undercutting and any disincentives to raise the skills of UK workers."

Other recommendations were:

Specific professional qualifications should be regarded as equivalent to National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level 3, or bachelors or masters degree

Masters degree be awarded 15 points in Tier 2, instead of the current 10 points;

A requirement that migrant workers outside of the EU will earn £20,000 and workers without qualifications earn at least £32,000

A new category to be established for key public service workers, with an added five points

Words: Clare Riley

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