The PCG acknowledges that the permits can be a useful tool for companies to have access to but they also believe that some firms are abusing the system in order to pay below the market rate.

They are concerned that lax rules and monitoring on this type of work permit lead to abuse of the rules surrounding Intra Company Transfers. The financial services institutions such as banks are the ones most commonly abusing the rules according to the PCG.

The PCG want to encourage contractors and freelancers to challenge parliamentary candidates on the issue ahead of the general election, to assess their party’s stance.

BBC Radio 5Live was told people are brought to the UK to work on government IT projects run by BT and Capgemini. Both firms say they are operating within the law. Intra-company transfer visas (ICT) mean an overseas employee can come to work for their company in the UK if they have six months’ experience, are paid an appropriate salary and do not take the job of a permanent UK worker. The government said it was tightening the rules on such visas. About 50,000 ICT visas are issued every year and two thirds of them go to employees in IT and telecommunications. About 70% are given to Indian nationals.

British IT worker Anil Verma has been out of work for two years and said;

“A lot of the IT contractors – they’re very very bitter about it. The government’s issued too many intra-company transfer visas and a lot of these guys have come over from India and flooded the IT industry. There are not enough jobs to go round.”

A contractor whose contract was not renewed by Capgemini believed talented Britons were gradually being replaced by Indian workers brought over on ICTs and he, like other IT contractors, feels that they are being undercut by cheaper overseas labour.

The UK Border Agency said there were strict rules on what ICT visa workers should be paid and any allegations of abuse would be investigated. The rules regarding ICTs will be tightened next year but it is not enough according to the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) and Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) who both believe the rules need to be tightened much more.

They were however disappointed with findings from the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) Report on the abuse of the Work Permit system. The committee were tasked to advise ministers on immigration policies. Instead of tightening the rules to limit the use of ICT permits in the recession, the MAC called for stronger enforcement of the current rules. However the Government decided to go one step further.

Intra Company Tranfers (ICTs) were designed to allow movement of specialist staff between global offices of multinational companies without the need to go through the lengthy immigration process. It was reported that companies were exploited this loophole and contractors, particularly in the IT sector were being replaced. Though the MAC failed to recommend a significant tightening of the ICT rules, the body did express concern at abuses. Mr Brazier finally commented, “These additional changes, though welcome, simply do not go far enough. It is certainly true that the Government needs to take a harder line on enforcement, and we strongly urge they do so, but we wanted to see the MAC come up with more specific measures to protect the UK’s freelance workforce. Freelancers are key to the UK’s future economic recovery, and we will continue to campaign hard for more stringent ICT rules.”