Eastern European consultants not good enough for the UK

[DodgyAgent]

Yes.

The British contractor in Poland would only be taken on because the client believed that a person with English as their mother tongue would be better in a particular role even if they don't know the cultural stuff and speak the country's language.

Point is your client doesn't want a Pole with no experience living or working in the UK.

Your client rightly or wrongly, and personally I presume wrongly, has an inbuilt idea that someone who is Polish will not be able to quickly grasp cultural stuff so they can deal with business in a professional manner.

Your client also could be completely racist - I would try out a few other nationalities e.g. Spanish, Greek, Nordic then if the client rejects them all tell them to f*** off.

You are quite right. thi is what I am thinking. I think it is the hiring department being too lazy

[Bee]

Not pre sales, yes direct contact with clients and fairly senior management/users. My own view is that provided the person is a really good communicator, good at listening and confident it doesn't matter what country they come from. If they have been used to dealing with these sort of people in their own country then they should be able to make the switch to the Uk.

I agree with you.

If the contractor has full professional proficiency in English I don't see any problem.

[SlipTheJab]

What next, white only programmers? Report the t0ssers to the rozzers!

[MrMarkyMark]

The person/company who said that is obviously discriminating against EU citizens - this is a serious offence under EU AND currently British law and you should report them to the authorities. Heavy fines awaits them.
EU law IS - without any restrictions whatsoever - in effect, and will be until (if) the UK formally has left the community.

As far as Western European IT people goes, I have had quite good experiences. The ones I have been working with (Romanians) have been very hard working, very knowledgeable both technically and “organisational/business acumen” wise and also really fund and friendly people in general. The only slightly negative thing I can say is that they are perhaps a little too eager to “please management” – e.g. not question ill advised decisions as much as "other" Europeans would do – which sometimes can lead to “quick but not the most sustainable solutions”. In their defence, they are much less like this compared with Indians (no offence to Indians in general – just sharing my experience).

Generally my experience too.
Virtually all of the best Polish people I have worked with have all been women, especially on the analysis side. It should be noted they were also the exception when it came to challenging ill informed decisions, i.e. they were very good at it.

[Bee]

Would a British contractor working in Poland as a consultant (in English) be any better/different from a Polish contractor (who speaks advanced/fluent English) working in the UK?

British contractors are not special just because they have native proficiency in English.

Bear in mind that in Europe what is important it's the level of professional proficiency in English depending on the role, in addition, sometimes it's not easy to understand the British because of the strong accent of certain areas of the country and an enough reason for not be accepted for the role.

[MrMarkyMark]

British contractors are not special just because they have native proficiency in English.

Bear in mind that in Europe what is important it's the level of professional proficiency in English depending on the role, in addition, sometimes it's not easy to understand the British because of the strong accent of certain areas of the country and an enough reason for not be accepted for the role.

Very true, I'm sure the differing accents can cause quite a lot of problems.

We are still special though

[Bee]

Yes.

The British contractor in Poland would only be taken on because the client believed that a person with English as their mother tongue would be better in a particular role even if they don't know the cultural stuff and speak the country's language.

Point is your client doesn't want a Pole with no experience living or working in the UK.

Your client rightly or wrongly, and personally I presume wrongly, has an inbuilt idea that someone who is Polish will not be able to quickly grasp cultural stuff so they can deal with business in a professional manner.

Your client also could be completely racist - I would try out a few other nationalities e.g. Spanish, Greek, Nordic then if the client rejects them all tell them to f*** off.

No, for the reasons that I pointed in my last post.

The point is, I'm afraid his client is a xenophobe bastard... Sorry!

[GB9]

No, for the reasons that I pointed in my last post.

The point is, I'm afraid his client is a xenophobe bastard... Sorry!

If it's a very small company with a direct hiring manager then that may be the case.

If it's a consultancy then they may have sold their clients uk nationals.

If it's a large client then there is no way a xenophobic attitude would be tolerated fme and there must be another reason.

[SueEllen]

No, for the reasons that I pointed in my last post.

I've been sold by a foreign employer and then a UK client to their clients as a native English speaker. I thought it was very funny as it is irrelevant for IT unlike language schools and nannying. That's why I came up with that sh*t that the company in Poland may want a native English speaker for some bizarre reason.

The point is, I'm afraid his client is a xenophobe bastard... Sorry!

We also don't know if they are xenophobic until DA has tried them with a few other nationalities as it could simply be like GB9 said.

[blackeye]

I've mainly dealt with Eastern Europeans in the offshore operations / technology teams, who have been good.

On shore Eastern Europeans have been just as good as any other nationality - it's the person's ability (which does still include cultural fit) that counts, not their accent, cultural background or skin colour.

I suggest you should report the hiring manager, as this is illegal and completely unacceptable.