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By adhering to best practice when it comes to sponsorship management, you can relax in the knowledge that your ability to hire non-UK workers can continue. Some sponsor licence holders struggle with not carrying out right-to-work checks or keeping up-to-date records. Here, we will look at some of the issues faced by UK sponsor licence holders and how to overcome them.
Table of Contents
Challenge 1 – Compliance Obligations and the Administrative Burden
Right to Work Checks
As a sponsoring employer, you must carry out checks on the right of all employees to work in the UK. You check this no matter where they are from. Additionally, you will need to check key documents such as passports and visas and recording information accurately for each member of staff. This applies regardless of their nationality. The ongoing nature of these checks requires significant time and resources. You must conduct these checks at hiring and periodically for employees with visas. Also, you must keep every right-to-work check and related record for at least two years after the worker stops employment. Not carrying out these checks can lead to the loss of your sponsor licence.
Keeping Records of Sponsored Workers
You must keep copies of passports, up-to-date address and phone numbers, and salary details. If the Home Office discovers that a record is not accurate, it may downgrade, suspend, or even revoke your sponsor licence. This is essentially important because during a compliance audit.
Report Changes in Circumstances
The Home Office also requires that employers report any significant changes in a sponsored worker’s employment status or circumstances. Suppose an employee fails to turn up to work, leaves the company, or otherwise breaches the terms of their visa. You must report this within 10 working days to avoid suspension. Failure to meet these reporting obligations can lead to licence suspension or revocation.
The demands of right-to-work checks, maintaining accurate records, and meeting reporting duties impose a heavy administrative burden. For some businesses, it may be necessary to have additional staff, systems, or even third-party support.
To overcome the compliance and administrative burdens outlined above, many sponsors now use technology to automate many of the processes. This may include, for example, a calendar system that automatically prompts staff to provide information about their immigration status and reminds key personnel who are due a right-to-work check.
Challenge 2 – Ensuring Key Personnel Have the Necessary Training and Are Always in Place
The Home Office requires that each sponsor licence holder appoints three types of key personnel. These are an Authorising Officer, a Key Contact, and a Level 1 User. The Authorising Officer is someone in a senior management role. This role is responsible for ensuring that the business complies with all sponsor licence duties. The Key Contact acts as the main liaison with the Home Office. Finally, the Level 1 User manages daily sponsorship activities, including updates to the Sponsorship Management System (SMS).
Some sponsors struggle with ensuring that they are training the right people. They must know how to handle the absence or departure of key personnel. Key personnel understand their roles and responsibilities to ensure that they manage sponsorship obligations effectively. Education is essential to keep personnel updated on immigration laws or reporting requirements. Larger companies may include the role of sponsorship key personnel in their HR policies and procedures. This means that if someone new needs to take over the role, it is already thoroughly documented, allowing continuous compliance.
Challenge 3 – Being Ready for a Home Office Compliance Audit at All Times
Sponsor licence holders may receive an unannounced desktop or onsite compliance audit by the Home Office at any time. This is a detailed process. It involves assessing compliance with immigration regulations and reviewing right-to-work checks, employee records, and sponsorship management practices.
The challenge for employers is to be able to demonstrate at all times to UKVI compliance officers that they have conducted accurate right-to-work checks, maintained complete and up-to-date employee records, and fulfilled all reporting requirements. The pressure of knowing that non-compliance could result in the loss of the licence can further compound this challenge. Subsequently, the effect extends to the sponsored employees.
The key to overcoming this challenge is to have periodic mock audits carried out by an independent third party, such as an immigration law firm. A Y & J Solicitors can prepare your business for a Home Office visit by carrying out mock audits. If any compliance gaps are found, we will recommend the best course of action. We will then ensure that the correct changes are put in place so that your sponsor licence is upgraded to an A-rating. Our legal team will help lift the suspension so that you can continue sponsoring team members again.
Why Is It Difficult to Get a Sponsor Licence in the UK?
Well, getting a Sponsor Licence in the UK is not an easy task. You must meet the number of stringent requirements of the Home Office. To prove that they are indeed operating in the UK, companies have to show a registered address, a business bank account that is active, and independently audited financial statements. Then the following essential roles need to be designated: Authorising Officer, Key Contact and Level 1 User. All of these need to pass through several background checks, such as criminal records and suitability assessments.
Thus, it is also important to put in place stronger HR measures, which essentially encompass conducting and maintaining accurate right-to-work records, keeping logs of all personnel changes, and utilising the SMS effectively. Once all is said and done, submit corporate documents, compliance and payroll documents in the precise format. The Home Office will validate every single detail. So, even a slight error in documentation will cause delays or rejections.
What Happens If My Sponsor Withdraws from the UK?
If your sponsor withdraws, your Certificate of Sponsorship immediately becomes invalid. Your visa rights come to an end, and you can no longer work legally. Then, you get a grace period of 60 days until you have to find another sponsorship licence or switch visa categories. If you do not make it at that point, you must get out of the UK. So, always make sure to have a backup plan in place in case of sudden disruption, like talking to another employer about sponsoring you or looking into other visa routes.
Final Words
As we have outlined in this article, you can face several challenges as a sponsor licence holder in the UK. However, the benefits of being able to hire skilled workers from other countries will outweigh any challenges. Sponsoring organisations that take the time to understand these challenges and how to overcome them tend not to run into problems. They sail through compliance audits and secure new sponsor licences when needed. The net effect is that they can continue to hire overseas workers, and those they have already sponsored can stay in their roles uninterrupted. For guidance on how you can ensure that the ability of your business to sponsor foreign workers is maintained at all times, including how to put in place best practice systems and processes, educate your team members, and carry out routine mock compliance audits, please speak to a member of our expert business immigration team at A Y & J Solicitors. We have handled over 100s of sponsor licence compliance issues. with a 95% success rate. Our team have achieved an overall track record of 5,000+ successful immigration and visa cases through our result-driven approach over the 15+ years of working in UK immigration law. We’re proud to be recognised by The Legal 500, but it’s our clients’ peace of mind that matters most. Reach out to us for any kind of sponsor licence-related guidance.
