Bring Back 100k Jobs And England Gains £4 Billion In Wages Pt.2

Part Two: English Profits or outsourcing to Foreign Jobs

Read part 1: England for sale british government fails to protect our industries

If England retained or returned an additional 100,000 full-time jobs from being outsourced overseas, those workers could earn almost £4 billion in wages every year, if based on current median earnings published by the Office for National Statistics. Those jobs would also generate more than £1 billion in direct Income Tax and National Insurance contributions, before the wider benefits to local businesses and communities are even considered.

Yet despite decades of companies moving work and jobs overseas, the British government still has no comprehensive official record showing how many jobs have been transferred abroad or where they have gone. Across England, profitable companies continue to serve millions of customers while relocating customer service, administration, IT support and business processing to lower-cost countries. Businesses often justify these decisions on the grounds of efficiency and competitiveness, but the wider economic consequences for England are rarely discussed.

What Could 100,000 Jobs Mean For England?

The Workers of England Union is not opposed to international trade or overseas investment. However, when businesses benefit from customers in England, English infrastructure and public contracts, it is reasonable to ask whether they also have a responsibility to support employment in England.

Publicly reported examples include organisations such as BT, Sky, Virgin Media O2, British Gas, ScottishPower, SSE, Aviva, Santander UK, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, Barclays, Direct Line, Hiscox, TUI, British Airways, easyJet, DHL, Royal Mail, Capita and G4S.

The extent of offshoring varies considerably between companies, and not every organisation has transferred UK jobs overseas on the same scale. Some businesses have also brought work back to England after concerns over customer service or operational performance. However, the overall picture is clear. Offshoring has become an established feature of many sectors of the British economy.

Sector Breakdown of Offshored Business Functions

Unfortunately, the scale of offshoring is difficult to measure because the Government does not publish a comprehensive annual total of jobs transferred overseas. However, publicly available information shows that offshoring has become common across many sectors of the economy. Offshoring Is no longer the exception!!

These examples demonstrate that offshoring is no longer confined to one industry. The list does not mean that all work in these organisations has moved overseas, nor do they represent a complete list. They illustrate a pattern that has developed across the British economy and England.

One of the most concerning findings is that neither Parliament nor the public can accurately measure the full extent of this trend. While the British government publishes detailed statistics on employment, unemployment and vacancies, there is no equivalent national database recording how many jobs companies move overseas each year.

The Call for Statutory Transparency Requirements

The Workers of England Union believes this should change. Companies benefiting from public contracts, grants or tax incentives should be required to publish how many jobs they transfer overseas, where those jobs go and whether they continue to receive taxpayer support. Greater transparency would allow workers, policymakers and the public to understand the true economic impact of offshoring.

Every job retained in England supports more than one wage. It generates tax revenue, sustains local businesses, creates apprenticeships and strengthens communities. If England created or retained an additional 100,000 jobs, almost £4 billion would flow into workers' wages every year, with substantial additional benefits for the wider economy. England is losing billions in wages because profitable companies are increasingly moving work overseas, yet no government department even measures the full scale of it.

If profits are generated in England, there should be a stronger expectation that businesses invest in England's workforce as well.

Workers Of England Union Is Calling for Employment Transparency

Workers of England Union is calling on the Government to introduce an Employment Transparency that would require larger employers to publish annually: Number of people employed in the UK. Number of jobs transferred overseas. Countries where those jobs have been relocated. Business functions transferred. Government grants received. Value of UK public contracts held. This would allow Parliament, workers and taxpayers in England to understand the true scale of offshoring across the economy.

Stephen Morris
General Secretary
Workers of England Union

References

(Office for National Statistics. Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025,HM Revenue & Customs. Income Tax and National Insurance Rates and Thresholds 2025–26, House of Commons Library. Offshoring and the UK Economy, OECD. Offshoring and Employment, UK Government. Guide for DWP Contractors: Offshoring Policy, Public reporting on offshore operations involving BT, Capita, British Airways, HSBC, AO World, Santander UK, Aviva, British Gas and other major UK businesses plus numerous media outlets)

Key Takeaways

• Significant Economic Valuation: Retaining or returning 100,000 full-time jobs from overseas would generate nearly £4 billion in domestic wages and over £1 billion in direct tax revenues annually.
• Widespread Sector Offshoring: Job displacement via offshoring has deeply impacted major banking, utility, telecom, insurance, and administrative support services across the economy.
• Absence of Official Tracking: Despite systematic job migration over recent decades, no centralized government database currently captures the precise metrics of offshored jobs.
• Employment Transparency Mandate: The Workers of England Union actively demands statutory annual reporting mandates for large firms tracking public contract awards alongside offshored operational sectors.