In the same way that migrants have conditions which they must fulfil to retain their legal immigration status in the UK, work visa sponsors have duties and responsibilities they must adhere to in order to keep the right to hire workers from outside of the country. Whereas a migrant may have their leave cancelled, meaning they may need to leave the UK, an employer may have their sponsor license downgraded, suspended, or even revoked if the Home Office have evidence of a breach of the immigration rules. If your business is new to sponsoring workers from outside of the UK, or you have been a sponsor for years, it important to understand these sponsorship duties, and ensure your enterprise is fulfilling them. In this article, we will lay out the duties and responsibilities of a Tier 2 / Skilled Worker sponsor license holder.
Do I Need A Tier 2 / Skilled Worker Sponsor License To Hire Non-UK Workers?
From the 1st January 2021, if you wish to hire a skilled worker from outside of the UK, whether they are in the EU or not, you will need to apply for and acquire a Skilled Worker sponsor license. Many businesses in the UK who have relied on staff from the EU/EEA until now have not needed a sponsor license, but as a result of Brexit and the ending of reciprocal free movement, they will now need a license if they still need to hire outside the UK.
What Are The Duties Of A Skilled Worker Sponsor License Holder?
Before even applying for a sponsor license, it is useful to review the duties which you will need to maintain. Many businesses underestimate just what is involved in hiring non-UK workers, and the overhead and commitment needed to remain compliant.
One of the guiding principles followed by the Home Office is that ‘sponsorship is a right, not a privilege’, and hence employers need to play their part in ensuring the immigration system is not abused. The aim of the duties put in place by the Home Office is to:
- prevent abuse of immigration laws and sponsorship arrangements
- capture early any patterns of behaviour that may cause concern
- address possible weaknesses in process which can cause those patterns
- monitor compliance with the Immigration Rules (and other relevant laws)
- ensuring sponsors do not behave in a way that is detrimental to the wider public good
For the purposes of clarity, we will break these duties into three parts:
Reporting
To meet the aims of preventing abuse and spotting early signs of problems, the Home Office requires sponsoring employers to keep them up to date with particular information and events. Information is relayed to the Home Office using the Sponsor Management System (SMS); an online portal.
Reporting duties require that sponsors inform the Home Office within ten working days if a sponsored worker does not start their job, is absent for more than ten days in a row, or if they are no longer sponsored.
These reporting duties also mean sponsors need to inform the Home Office within 20 days if there are significant changes to their business, such as changing the company name, if the business is sold or taken over, or if the type of business changes.
Record keeping
One of the main duties of a sponsor is to ensure your business has the systems, processes, and procedures in place to hire overseas workers using the correct process, and that you keep up to date records. This requires that you keep documents for each sponsored worker including copies of their passport, evidence of their date of entry into the UK, DBS checks, occupational qualification and/or registration documents, copies of payslips, contracts of employment, and evidence of right to work checks. You also need to keep up to date records of your sponsored workers’ contact and address details, and a history of these. It is important that you store this information securely and in a way which can readily be given to the Home Office when they are assessing your compliance.
Complying with immigration and other relevant laws
As a sponsor license holder, it is your duty to ensure that where you do hire a worker from outside of the UK, you comply with immigration law. This means checking they have the necessary skills, qualifications or professional accreditations to undertake the role, and that you only assign certificates of sponsorship to workers when the job is suitable for sponsorship. Beyond these duties, you must:
- only assign a CoS where there is a genuine vacancy or role
- only allow the worker to undertake the roles permitted by the conditions of their stay
- only assign a CoS to workers who you believe will meet the immigration requirements of the route on which you propose to sponsor them, and are likely to comply with the conditions of their permission
- only assign a CoS to a worker if you are satisfied they intend to, and are able to, fill the role
- do not pay less than the minimum or going-rate salary
Outside of immigration law, you will have a duty to ensure that you
- adhere to right-to-rent legislation
- have planning permission, local planning authority consent or any legally required licence registration or approval to run your type/class of business at your trading address
- only employing a worker who has had a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, where this is a requirement for the role
- complying with requirements on safeguarding children
- not engage in any criminal activity
Wrapping Up
Understanding and then adhering to the duties of a sponsor license holder is a considerable undertaking for any business, and one which should not be underestimated. If you lack the internal resources to implement the processes necessary to meet these requirements, you can engage the services of an immigration Solicitor who can advise on best practice and carry out regular mock audits to ensure you remain compliant in the event of an unannounced Home Office audit.
