Home Office seems to have changed requirements RETROACTIVELY

[bluecalx]

I submitted my HSMP application in mid-September of 2004 and haven't gotten a response yet. However, I just heard from my consultant that a similar application was denied today. Both my application and this other guy's claimed points for employment based on part-time work. For instance, my application claimed 25 points (2 years experience) because I had 15 months of full-time work and several years of part-time freelance work. It worked out something like:

15 months full-time + 36 months working 20 hrs/week (equivalent to 18 months full-time) = 33 months (2 years and 9 months) of full-time work

Part of the reason I don't have more full-time work experience is that I have a BSc, an MA (from the UK) and I'm completing a second MA now (also in the UK). I applied as an under-28, so it's not unreasonable to think that a young person with lots of education would be lacking in full-time work experience. Has anyone else been accepted in a similar situation (for instance, using 4 years of half-time work to make up 2 years of full-time work)?

When I submitted the application back in September, my consultant said this was pretty standard and had been accepted in the past. Now she's gotten a rejection for a similar case and the reason given was "not enough work experience". So apparently they're applying this new standard retroactively and my consultant seems almost certain that my application will be denied.

Is this sort of thing even legal? The whole process of handling HSMPs from June-October of last year seems really, really dodgy.

1) They give an estimated processing time of 2-3 months. Then they put 5 months of applications off to the side and won't process them for some indeterminate length of time. The original 2-3 months turns into 8-12+ months. And while this is going on, they claim that they're processing applications as per their "Service Standard".

Service standard: 50% of applications to be decided within 5 weeks of receipt at our payment handling service and 90% in 14 weeks.

They neglect to mention the massive backlog of applications which they seem to have unofficially removed from the system temporarily. It's very easy to meet processing quotas when you just hide any application that you can't process in time.

2) They have a set of guidelines by which they judge applications. Those of us who submitted last year were told they would be judged by one set of guidelines. Because of the HSMP team's remarkable incompetence, the applications are being judged now by a harsher standard. So essentially, applicants paid 300 quid to apply based on the old standards and now the Home Office says, "thanks for the money, but you don't meet the new standards we created after you submitted your application." Seems quite fraudulent to me..

[f2k]

In fairness to those in the HO, the notes do say ‘Full time’ experience. its item 7.2.5 in the ‘table’ format in the guidance notes, so for 25 points you will need ‘At least 2 years’ full time graduate level work experience’ and so forth. i also copied and pasted the section from the actual form

2 Work experience HO use only

a) Minimum 2 years’ (full time) graduate level work experience, or 25 points
b) Minimum 4 years’ (full time) graduate level work experience, or 35 points
c) Minimum 4 years’ (full time) graduate level work experience including at 50 points least 1 year in a senior or specialist role

I am sure there are people who have got approval with part-time experience but without the full time details of those individual you can never be too sure. I could be wrong but what the old forms say. So anyway the HO may just be enforcing this requirement rather than changing the rules retrospectively, I think you should check your forms again and question your consultant for not giving you correct information.
Another thing is that it is not unreasonable to expect a young (under 28) to have loads of experience and also loads of experience and earn loads of money, and in any case for most under 28 getting 15points for education, 25points for experience (2years), and earning 25points is more than sufficient to get the 65 points