If you are an existing UK business with a sponsor licence, or if you plan to start sponsoring overseas workers in 2024 or beyond, it is important to understand that gaining a licence is only the start of the process. Keeping your licence means complying with the law and rules for sponsoring overseas workers at all times. In the following article, we will explain 9 proven methods for maintaining Home Office compliance with your sponsorship duties and obligations.
1. Understand your sponsorship duties
It is impossible to maintain compliance with your duties as a sponsor if you are not well acquainted with them. All UK sponsor licence holders must comply with a range of duties and obligations, including:
- Maintaining accurate records (e.g. contact details)
- Reporting certain changes to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)
- Checking the immigration status of sponsored employees and ensuring that sponsored workers have valid visas and are compliant with the terms of their
- Complying with immigration laws, and
- Not engaging in behaviour or actions that are not conducive to the public good.
Any failure to fulfil these duties may result in your licence being downgraded, revoked, or suspended, meaning that you may be unable to sponsor more overseas workers and those you already sponsor may have their visas curtailed.
Don’t just rely on a delegated member of staff to understand your duties as a sponsor. By taking the time to understand your sponsorship duties as a business owner or director, you can ensure that the proper checks and balances are put in place.
2. Provide up-to-date policies and procedures
We recommend putting in place specific HR policies and procedures setting out how your staff should maintain compliance with your sponsorship duties and obligations. These should be kept up to date (e.g., when the law changes) and be easily available to all staff members to deal with sponsored workers. Your sponsorship policies and procedures may set out, for example:
- When and how to hire a sponsored worker
- The requirements that must be met (e.g. salary requirements)
- When and how to carry out a right-to-work check
- When and how to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship
- What to do if a sponsored member of staff stops coming to work
- How to meet Home Office reporting requirements, and
- Record-keeping requirements for sponsored workers.
3. Training
Even the most up-to-date and thorough policies and procedures are of no use if you don’t provide training to key members of staff, especially Key Personnel, including Authorising Officers, Level 1 and Level 2 Users, and Key Contacts.
We recommend providing initial training when onboarding new members of staff involved in the sponsorship process and then offering refresher training on a periodic basis (e.g. annually) to ensure compliance with the latest rules. Also, ensure that if new changes are due to be implemented, staff are trained accordingly so they are prepared in advance.
Also, consider what will happen if one of your Key Personnel is absent for any reason. Always make sure that you have someone available who can assume the duties of a member of your Key Personnel.
4. Mock audits
UKVI carry out periodic desk-based on-site audits of sponsoring employees to ensure that they are meeting their compliance requirements. Non-compliance may result in a licence being downgraded, suspended, or revoked. As such, you need to make sure that you are ready for an audit at any time, especially because they are often unannounced.
One of the best ways to give yourself peace of mind that your business is fully compliant and ready for a UKVI visit at any time is to have regular mock audits carried out by an external auditor. Immigration Solicitors and Lawyers understand the intricacies of sponsor licence compliance and can carry out mock audits for your organisation. If they find any gaps in compliance, they will provide a report to your senior staff and help them resolve any issues to ensure your readiness for a compliance visit.
5. Key personnel
As a licenced sponsor, you have a duty to ensure that you have staff in the required sponsor management roles (also referred to as ‘key personnel’) who will look after your online Sponsorship Management System (SMS). These roles include an authorising officer, key contact, and level 1 and 2 users. You must make sure that each person in these roles is suitable (e.g., they must not break the law and must be in the UK most of the time). In addition, if one of these staff members leaves, you will need to replace them and update UKVI with their details.
6. Keep up-to-date records
Maintaining compliance requires scrupulous record-keeping. During a compliance audit, UKVI may ask to check any record to ensure that it is correct. This is why it is so important to keep the records you have on sponsored workers fully up to date.
For each sponsored worker, you will need to keep up-to-date records of their:
- Contact information
- Right to work in the UK, including their permission to be in the UK
- Entry to the UK
- National insurance number
- Recruitment process
- Salary details and
- Skill level
7. Implement robust systems with automated checks and reminders
One of the best ways to ensure compliance is to put in place systems to automate as much of the process and checks required. For example, you can use calendar reminders to remind you to check the visas of work visa holders to ensure they remain current. Likewise, you can use automated workflow to ensure that the recruitment of sponsored workers follows the correct process each time. The idea of using systems and software to automate the sponsorship management process is to remove the overhead from your staff and to ensure that no steps are missed.
8. Carry out right-to-work checks for all staff
All employers are required to carry out right-to-work checks for each prospective employee. This is required whether they are a sponsored worker, a person who is settled or a British citizen. Ensure that you carry out right-to-work checks for all permanent, temporary, seasonal, part-time, casual workers, contractors, and volunteers.
Carrying out right-to-work checks for all staff, regardless of their immigration status, will ensure that you remain compliant with your sponsor licence duties.
9. Tackle issues as soon as possible
In any business, problems and challenges arise, especially when it comes to recruiting staff. If you become aware of any problems with a sponsored member of staff or any aspect of your systems, processes, training, or any other sponsorship matter, they should be dealt with without delay. If a member of staff makes you aware that the full process is not being followed or corners are being cut in any way, be proactive and find a solution. Ignoring or not being open to resolving problems can lead to serious gaps in sponsor licence compliance, which may be picked up by UKVI.
Final words
By taking the time to put effective sponsorship management processes, procedures, and training in place before you start recruiting overseas workers, you can relax knowing that you have a framework for ongoing compliance. Of course, these must be periodically reviewed and updated accordingly when necessary. It is also important to partner with an experienced UK immigration lawyer at the outset of your business sponsorship journey, who can make sure that you are compliant at all times by carrying out mock audits.
A Y & J Solicitors is a specialist immigration law firm with extensive experience with all types of visa applications. We have an in-depth understanding of immigration law and are professional and results-focused. For assistance with your visa application or any other UK immigration law concerns, please contact us on +44 20 7404 7933 or at contact us today. We’re here to help!
