While there are considerable benefits of being able to recruit staff members from outside of the UK, being a Skilled Worker sponsor can also feel like walking a tightrope sometimes. This is because sponsoring employers need to ensure they remain compliant with the duties and obligations of a sponsor, and they may receive a visit from the Home Office at any time to ensure this is the case. The risk of not being prepared for a sponsor license compliance visit is that if a breach of the rules is found (for example, if a foreign worker is not being paid the going rate for their role, or they do not have the right to work in the UK), the sponsor license may be downgraded, revoked, or suspended. And if any of these happen, no further international recruitment can take place. If the license is revoked, those workers you do have may have their leave curtailed (i.e. leave reduced to 60 days), leaving your business short of the skills and resources it needs to operate. In this article, we provide eight tips for surviving a skilled worker sponsor license compliance visit from the Home Office. We will focus on what you should do on the day, rather than the preparation you can undertake before the visit.
Tip 1: Always Allow the Home Office Compliance Officer Entry to Your Premises
Some businesses may be worried that they are not compliant and refuse entry to a compliance officer. Whether you receive an announced or unannounced Home Office visit, they will never force entry into your premises (they do not have the warrant to do so). It is important that you allow the compliance officer into your premises as refusing to do so may lead to an automatic refusal (if they are assessing your business for a new license) or your license being revoked. When you signed your application form, you will have agreed to allow access for the purposes of compliance checks.
Tip 2: Ensure a Member of Staff with Full Knowledge of Your Sponsorship System, Processes, And Procedures Is Made Available Exclusively To the Compliance Officer
By making sure that the compliance officer is looked after and all of their questions answered immediately, you will boost your chances of satisfying them of your business’s compliance. It is not unheard of for a compliance officer to arrive only for the business not to have anyone available, or a person available who does not have the time to spend with them.
Tip 3: Be Honest
This may seem like an obvious point to make, but where a compliance officer requests information and you know that you are not likely to be compliant, then it is better to acknowledge this and advise how the matter will be resolved. Any attempt to mislead the compliance officer will only lead to an adverse outcome.
Tip 4: Show Your Sponsorship Processes and Procedures
The Home Office compliance will be looking to ensure that your business has mature and well-established systems, processes, and procedures which are consistent across all locations for the hiring of international sponsored workers. It will put you in good stead if you can show them copies of your processes and procedures manual, and that this is up to date with the latest rules and requirements. This will be especially important from 1st January 2021, as the salary requirements for sponsored workers will be changing, and there will be no need for a resident labour market test (RLMT).
Tip 5: Be Proactive
Think what you can do to make the compliance officer’s role easier. Rather than just providing the minimum information required, consider what else they will need to see. For example, if you are asked to provide a registration or qualification document for a particular sponsored worker, you could take all of the information you have on the individual, including their latest contact and address details. This will also reduce the number of trips you will need to make to find records and information which you are required to store, reducing the waiting time of the compliance officer.
Tip 6: Tell the Compliance Officer about Any Improvements You Have Made
If your business has made any changes recently to improve how you manage sponsored workers, let the compliance officer know what you have done. This will further demonstrate that your business takes compliance seriously. For example, if you have switched from a spreadsheet for storing information on sponsored employees to a database which can be accessed and updated more easily, explain this to them.
Tip 7: Don’t Be Afraid To Ask If You Are Unsure
Home Office compliance officers should be willing to explain what it is they are looking for. If you are unsure of what is being asked, then don’t be afraid to clarify. This won’t be perceived as a lack of knowledge, rather that you want to ensure you are providing the right information.
Tip 8: Don’t Panic or Worry If You Are Not Fully Prepared
There is a perception that Home Office compliance officers are draconian and there to find even the smallest fault. While they are there to check you are compliant, they should also be fair. They have to follow guidelines which explain what they can and cannot expect. For example, when checking that you are maintaining migrant contact details, they cannot dictate how you should record contact details, nor can they insist on both an electronic and paper copy, insist on you having a back-up system in case of fire or flood damage, or penalise you if you can’t show a migrant contact history if they have not changed telephone number since being sponsored.
Final Words
In addition to all of the above, by being polite, courteous, and considerate, you will increase your chances of being compliant. It is also more likely that rather than simply marking you down on an issue found, they are more likely to ask and clarify, therefore giving you the benefit of the doubt.
