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Oxford Bus Company was unable to employ two asylum-seekers because of the red tape specified by the DVLA to grant driving licences.
The asylum-seekers, who were eligible to work, completed the selection process to become bus drivers, but were refused the provisional PCV licence that would have enabled the company to train them.
Louisa Weeks, personnel manager of Oxford Bus Company, said, "These drivers would have been perfectly suitable for the job. We invested a lot of time in these asylum-seekers through the interview process and driver assessment. It was a time-consuming process."
The DVLA turned down the asylum-seekers' applications for PCV licences because they could not provide a passport or birth certificate. The asylum-seekers - one from Albania, the other from Africa - only had documents provided by the Immigration Department, which state that the holder is the person they claim to be.
The Oxford Bus Company is facing a severe shortage of drivers, as Oxfordshire has only 1 per cent unemployment - one of the lowest rates in the country.
Weeks said, "We will need 20 bus drivers to get through the summer season. This is a classic example of the red tape that is stopping people who are keen to contribute in an area of staff shortages from getting a job."
The DVLA told Personnel Today that an applicant needs a passport, birth certificate or Home Office travel document to get a PCV licence, but welcomed the applicants to write and state their case.
Weeks has advised the asylum-seekers to question the DVLA's decision.
By Karen Higginbottom
Feedback from the profession
Personnel Today asked: Would being able to readily employ asylum-seekers be a benefit to your organisation?
Des Pullen, HR director, Allied Bakeries
"We have some sites in the country that have particular recruitment issues. We have a number of asylum-seekers who have come seeking work and we've had to turn them down. It's frustrating. We'd like them to work for us."
Francesca Okosi, HR director, London Borough of Brent
"Asylum-seekers have a genuine right to work, and come to this country with all sorts of experience. It's far better that they are in meaningful employment than relying on the state. If they've got the skills, we should employ them. Central government should use the info
