A Y & J Solicitors is pleased we have enabled another company to have their Tier 2 Sponsor Licence ‘A’ rating reinstated after suspension.

Home Office Inspection Leads to Sponsor Licence Suspension for IT Company

Company Q is a leading Information Technology (IT) Consulting company that delivers high quality, reliable, and cost-effective IT Services and Solutions to their customers globally. They were visited by representatives of the UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) to assess their suitability as a registered sponsor. Following this visit, Company Q was suspended from the Tier 2 Register of Licenced Sponsors and they were asked to address issues identified by UKVI in the suspension letter within 20 working days.

In their work providing software consulting and solutions, Company Q works with various clients in different business domains and technical environments. As a small but growing company, Company Q needs employees with multiple IT skills who can effectively work in a variety of environments. Finding suitable employees has proven to be very difficult in the current local and EEA labour markets. If they lost their Tier 2 Sponsor Licence, Company Q would also lose 8 out of the 11 team members (72%), severely limiting the organisation’s ability to deliver completed projects to their clients. Company Q would not only lose existing clients and revenue, but it would have been very difficult for them to gain new business without the continued presence of key sponsored employees. The revocation of their licence would have crippled the business, which has taken 15 years to build.

Accused of Supplying Labour, and Failing to Keep Records and Work Evidence

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Supplying Labour

In the suspension letter, UKVI stated that Company Q did not retain full responsibility for the duties, functions, and outcomes of the job performed by two of their sponsored workers while they were working at a client site.

UKVI recorded in paragraph 3 of the suspension letter that one of the sponsored workers (Mr M) stated in his interview that, “Company Q only reviews projects on a monthly and quarterly basis”.

Record Keeping and Recruitment Practices

In paragraphs 16 and 17 of the suspension letter, UKVI stated that one of Company Q’s sponsored workers (Mr K), did not conclusively meet minimum requirements of the role of Software Developer in Testing, and did not have at least 2 years of experience of developing and implementing test life, as stipulated in the advertisement for the post.

UKVI recorded further concerns in paragraph 22 of the suspension letter that the employment file for Mr K (one of the sponsored workers) did not contain evidence of his National Insurance and that when requested by UKVI, Company Q stated that Mr K had not submitted an NI application.

Monitoring Immigration Status

In paragraph 25 of the suspension letter, UKVI recorded concerns that the Company did not have an adequate system in place to conduct the Right to Work checks for their sponsored employees.

Work evidence

UKVI also requested that Company Q provide the work evidence for their sponsored workers. This was not possible for the sponsored workers who worked at remote client sites due to client confidentiality.

A Y & J Solicitors Conducts Detailed Defence, ‘A’ Rated Sponsor Licence is Reinstated

A Y & J Solicitors were instructed by this IT company to assist in preparing a response to the UKVI (Home Office) suspension letter within 20 working days. We provided unlimited legal support/advice in preparing the representations, advised on documents and information required from the sponsor to address the issues, submitted the legal representation to the UKVI and liaised with them until a decision was made on the Tier 2 suspension matter.

We carried out significant detailed and intense work. For example, we requested the interview notes that UKVI (i.e. Home Office) used to prepare the suspension letter, carefully scrutinised these interview notes to understand and assist our client, brainstormed on the relevant documents our client could submit to strengthen their case and followed through to ensure each solution was used to support Company Q’s case.

The result was outstanding, and the Tier 2 licence has been reinstated. Company Q has received their crucial ‘A’ rating and is confident in their ability to maintain this rating going forward.

Of course, each and every case is decided on its own merits and the outcome of the case depends on the quality of information and documentation. Having said that, we are well placed to bring solutions to our client’s Tier 2 suspension/revocation matters by employing our extensive experience and expertise in this area.