Ex-employers and you

• Q: I was working with an IT company before moving to another organisation which offered me a higher pay package. However, I don’t like the work in the new company and want to shift back to my previous company. Will they rehire me or will they reject me immediately as I had voluntarily left the earlier organisation?

L.M. Kishore

• A: Boomerang hiring has become a norm in almost all IT firms. Companies are using out-of-the-box strategies to hire their ex-employees. These include unconventional ones like launching ex-employee portals.

Research shows that an individual’s productivity depends upon experience and skill-sets and his ability to adjust to organisational culture.

When a company hires outsiders, it is sure of the first, but the second factor may work against them. However, when a company rehires, both factors are assured. This can save the company hiring costs up to 70 per cent.

For instance, IT major Satyam Computer Services has recently launched an ex-employee portal ReMember which has 7,800 registered members. Positions are offered to rehired employees based on their experience and knowledge. Around 30 employees return to their company every quarter. They bring with them new employees through the referral system and contribute to brand equity.

Another US-based company, Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP), is looking at introducing new initiatives to bring back its former employees. As a part of this initiative, the company sends all former employees a compact disc showcasing the latest status of the organisation along with a letter from the chief executive officer. Most of the rehired people are middle-level employees.

So go ahead and reapply for a job in your previous organisation.

Chinese boost for your career

• Q: I am working with a leading bank. I have been offered a transfer to China. Should I take up the offer even though it would mean living far away from my family? Please advise.

H. Sampat

• A: Getting China on one’s CV is popular in western economies and now, Indian executives have realised that China is a completely new world. Cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu are the main attractions for Indians.

Companies such as Gati, L&T, Mahindra and Mahindra, TCS, Cognizant, Bank of Baroda and SBI are sending their executives to China to expand their overseas operations. Companies encourage the China stint as it is one of the fastest growing economies. Even if you have to live a few years away from your family, moving to China will prove very profitable for your career

Score high and head to the land of the Big Ben

• Q: Will I have to clear an English test under the UK’s Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP)? How can I get a visa?

Rohit Swarup

• A: The UK’s latest immigration laws make speaking and reading English compulsory for those going there from non-European Union countries. This is bound to block a large number of skilled migrants, probably as many as 35,000.

Applicants will now be strictly tested on English traditions and values, apart from spoken and written English. Under the government’s new “points” system, there are three main categories of immigrants coming to Britain from outside the EU for work: highly skilled, skilled and low-skilled.

While the first two categories of immigrants can eventually settle permanently, the third cannot.

But now, the condition will be extended to all skilled migrants (96,000 last year).

ccording to government sources, about 35,000 of them would not have passed an English-speaking test.

The new immigration laws are being introduced so that unemployed low-skilled Britons can be trained to fill the country’s “skills gap” and so that the UK does not have to rely too much on additional migrants.

Meanwhile, the UK government has announced a steep increase in visa fees from April this year for students, visitors and those wishing to settle down in the UK.

The basic visitor fee has been increased from £50 (Rs 4,250 approximately) to £63, the student visa from £85 to £99.

The fee for the long-term visa (including work permit and the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme Visa) has been increased from £260 to £500. The transit visa fee has been increased from £30 to £44.

For more information, please conttact VFS Global Services Pvt. Ltd, UK Visa Application Centre, Third Floor, Om Towers, 32 Chowringhee Road, Calcutta-700071 (telephone: 22178877; e-mail: vfsuk.east@vfsglobal.com) or VFS Global Services Pvt Ltd, UK Visa Application Centre, Upper Ground Floor Block F, International Trade Tower, Nehru Place, New Delhi-110019 (telephone: 011-41650497 / 1510; e-mail: vfsuk.north@vfsglobal.com).