Teacher Agencies to be allowed to apply for UK Work Permits

01 March 2002

The British Government recognises that there is an acute shortage of teachers in the UK. To make it easier to employ teachers from 1 April 2002 to 31 December 2002 it will be possible for teacher agencies to apply for work permits. This is a very important concession by Work Permits UK the Government Department that deals with work permits, and could mean that in future other types of agencies are also permitted to apply for work permits. In fact there is a recruitment and employment agencies review by Work Permits UK to consider these issues going on between 18 March 2002 and 14 June 2002.

The general requirements for a Teacher Agency to apply for a Work Permit are as follows:

1. The Teacher Agency must be shown as the employer on the work permit application form.
2. The position must be in a recognised shortage occupation as defined by Work Permits UK.
3. There must be a contract between the teacher agency and the school or Local Education Authority, and the contract must show that the agency is responsible to provide staff and resources to meet the requirements of the national curriculum
4. The overseas teacher must be employed under the same salary, terms and conditions that would be offered to a resident worker.
5. The work permits issued under this scheme from 1 April 2002 to 31 December 2002 will be for a maximum period of two years depending on the length of the contract between the teacher agency and the School or Local Education Authority.

If you have any queries regarding this new scheme please contact the UK Department of Workpermit.com on 020 7495 3999 or via e-mail on ukworkpermit@workpermit.com