Work Permits - changes to shortage occupations
The part of the UK Border and Immigration Agency dealing with work permits (previously called Work Permits (UK)) has made changes to the National Shortage Occupation List. This is the list of jobs where it is recognised that there is a shortage of workers within the labour market in the UK and that employers may not be able to fill the post with a UK or European Economic Area (EEA) worker. In such cases, employers do not need to undertake a labour market search to demonstrate that there is no-one within the EEA who can fill the job.
The following jobs are being removed from the shortage occupation list with effect from 29 May 2007:
• Senior Physiotherapists
• Salaried General Dental Practitioners
• Salaried Assistant Dentists
• Salaried Vocational Dental Practitioners
Thus, from now on, an employer wishing to employ someone to do one of these jobs will have to demonstrate that they have made a genuine attempt to recruit a worker from the EEA and that this attempt has failed. This would normally be done by going through a public recruitment procedure using methods that the Border and Immigration Agency accepts as genuine and credible. This is normally evidenced by providing details of advertising, applicants and the recruitment process.
There is one extension to the list: of shortage occupations. Teaching children of compulsory school age in Scotland, as well as in England, is now designated a shortage occupation, with immediate effect. Most shortage occupations are specific jobs in the fields of engineering (for example CAA Licensed Aircraft Engineers and Geophysicists and other specific professions working in construction, but not in oil and gas extraction) and health and medicine (for example consultants in neurology and clinical oncology, speech and language therapists, and social workers).
Outside these two categories, teachers of compulsory school age children and veterinary surgeons are the only two designated shortage occupations. Apart from shortage occupations there are a limited number of circumstances in which UK employers do not need to carry out a resident labour market test. These include posts under the broad headings of Intra-Company Transfers, board level posts, posts bringing a significant level of inward investment to the UK and sponsored researchers.
