The BIA employs 25,000 staff who have sweeping powers under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act to operate an ‘Australian‘ style points system aimed at restricting immigration to workers with skills that will benefit the UK.

Jail term
However, the new powers mean employers convicted of knowingly hiring illegal workers face an unlimited fine and a jail term of up to two years.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has criticised the new legislation, claiming it will require employers to act as immigration officers. Manufacturers fear the new law will make hinder the recruitment of skilled overseas workers, exacerbating existing skill shortages and making themless competitive.
Among them is Innovative Technology, which employs nearly seventy people in Oldham and a similar number in six overseas offices. The company designs and manufactures bank note vadidation technology. In the last year it has taken on eighteen highly skilled professionals and graduates, including staff from Sri Lanka and Malaysia.


Recruitment manager Carole Harker told Good Company:
”In the last few years we have outsourced assembly and low skill work, and have moved to a higher skill set in our work force. We are always looking for skilled workers, and use all kind of techniques including in-company post graduate placements, and bursaries for students studying relevant courses.
“However, as a truly international company we still need to recruit from around the world. The new points system makes it harder for companies to do this, and discourages good candidates from applying. We could sponsor a new worker to come here on a temporary visa, who then has to build up enough points for a permanent stay.”

Thorough procedures
Ms Harker continued: “Through circumstances such as an exam set back, the person could fail to get enough points, which means a year wasted for both the worker and the company. The new rules require very thorough procedures to check and record all the documentation, and I gather than many companies are not yet at the starting block due to the complexity of the new regulations.”
Innovative Technology Chairman David Bellis added: “This legislation has made it harder to attract the right people. It is not in the best interests of individuals or the company if we have a succession of short term appointments. I think this company offers good career prospects for skilled people, and I would prefer them to stay.”