The UK government has changed the way companies hire non-EU employees. The Sponsor license. Effective from January 1, all UK employers will now need a Sponsor license issued by the UK Home Office to hire non-EU employees.
If you are an employer holding a sponsor license, you must obey and uphold the rules and regulations mentioned under the Sponsor Guidance and UK legislature. Sponsor License Compliance duties are an obligation. The employer must comply with all the necessary requirements to keep their license.
Sponsor License Holder Duties
As a Sponsor License holder, the employer needs to fulfil a few duties. Following is a list of the Sponsor License compliance duties–
- To monitor immigration status and prevent illegal employment
- Maintain contact details of the migrants
- Record keeping
- To monitor and report migrant activity
- Ensure that you have obtained the relevant professional registrations and accreditations
- Report various changes of circumstances to the sponsor
- To comply with the law, such as the employment law and acquire relevant planning permission
- Ensure cooperation with the Home Office
HR policies
As a sponsor license holder, you must have a few HR policies. HR policies for a sponsor license holder must be able to regulate and satisfy the internal requirements. You must have the answer to a few questions and be able to prove the same. The HR should know about the following things –
- Why did the migrant worker not turn up?
- How will you contact them if they are absent for a few days?
- Is the information you have on them up to date?
- When will their visa expire, and how will the same be communicated to you?
- What actions should you take when their visa expires?
You must have this information recorded somewhere. It can be emails, spreadsheets, calendar entries, HRMS software, documents, etc. Additionally, they should be aware of duties and responsibilities with respect to migrant record-keeping and monitoring. They must be aware of instances when they need to contact Level 1 and Level 2 users for relevant matters.
These will help you uphold the sponsor license compliance duties.
Home Office Audit Visit
The Home Office is free to make audit visits to a sponsor license holder’s premise announced or unannounced to check if they comply with the requirements. This visit can happen while the Home Office processes your sponsor license or after they have issued it.
The Home office expects all the sponsor license holders to comply with the rules. They shall not put up with any responsibility.
If they find that you are not complying with the duties, they may suspend or revoke your license.
Suspension v/s Revocation
Sponsor license suspension – If the Home Office feels that you may be breaching the sponsor license duties or pose a threat to immigration control, they may suspend your license. The suspension will take place if the grounds for a mandatory revocation is inapplicable. You shall be notified of the reason in writing and will stand a chance to respond. Further investigation depends on the UKVI’s decision.
If you breach mandatory ground for revocation, you will face a sponsor license revocation. The Home Office may also revoke your license if there is a severe compliance breach.
If a discretionary reason for revocation is applied, The employer may first face a suspension of sponsor license by the UKVI. This gives them the opportunity to respond to the concerns raised by UKVI. Post this, UKVI may decide if they want to revoke the sponsor license.
The employer cannot apply again for a sponsor license until 12 months have gone by since the date mentioned on the revocation letter.
How to retain your sponsor license?
Retaining a sponsor license can be difficult especially, with unannounced visits from the Home Office. You can retain your sponsor license by looking after the following things –
- Ensure that all your information on your migrant employees is up to date.
- Your HR policies are well-planned and charted out clearly. Additionally, they are in accordance with sponsor license compliance duties.
- Chart out clear roles for your migrant employees and fill in genuine vacancies.
- Keep your paperwork up to date.
- Run mock audits with your immigration lawyer. Have your immigration lawyer in the house during the real visit (if you are informed prior)
These tips will help you prepare for your Home Office Audit Visit and ensure that you retain your license.
Sponsor license suspension and revocation can hinder your hiring process and keep you away from onboarding employees that can create a difference.
