An employer’s guide to sponsor licence compliance

Following our previous updates for employers, including details on applying for a sponsor licence, our latest guide provides an overview of sponsor duties and compliance. This will be helpful to employers that have a sponsor licence or those who are considering applying for one.    

Compliance duties

Record-keeping

 As an employer, you have an obligation to undertake a right to work check in compliance with Home Office guidance. These checks are mandatory, and you must keep certain documents for each worker you sponsor. The documents can be kept in paper or electronic form.

Appendix D of the Immigration Rules specifies the documents to be retained and how long they must be kept for.

You must be able to provide, when asked, any documents relating to your sponsored workers or the running of your organisation to the Home Office.

Right to Work

You must carry out a compliant right to work check before the relevant employment starts.

If you employ someone who has no restrictions on their right to be in the UK and work (for example, if they have indefinite leave to remain), you only need to conduct this check once.

If the employee has restrictions on their right to be in the UK and to do the work in question (for example, if they have limited permission to enter), you need to conduct follow-up checks.

Read further at:

• Employer's guide to right to work checks
• Right To Work Checks — Update

Immigration laws

Sponsors must comply with UK immigration laws and all parts of the Home Office sponsor guidance. This includes:

• only employing workers who are appropriately qualified, registered or experienced to do the job or will be by the time they begin the job
• keeping a copy of any registration document, certificate or reference that confirms workers meet the requirements of the specific job
• not employing workers where they do not have the experience, qualifications or immigration permission to do the job in question, and stop employing any workers who, for any reason, are no longer entitled to do the job
• not assigning a certificate of sponsorship where there is no genuine vacancy or for a role which does not meet the specific eligibility criteria for the route
• only allowing the worker to undertake the roles permitted by the conditions of their stay
• only assigning 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
• not allowing a sponsorship management system (SMS) user to assign their own CoS or assign a CoS to someone who is a close relative or partner
• only assigning a CoS to a worker if you are satisfied they intend to, and are able to, fill the role
• where relevant, understanding and fulfilling your responsibilities in relation to Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS).

Reporting duties 

You must report certain changes that affect your sponsored workers or your organisation within the time limits set out below:

• changes to a sponsored worker’s circumstances — unless otherwise stated, you must report these changes within 10 working days of the relevant event occurring. This includes situations such as a sponsored worker not starting the role for which you are sponsoring them within 28 days; a sponsored worker’s normal work location changing; certain changes to job or salary; the worker being absent without permission; or you stop sponsoring a worker for any reason.
• changes to your organisation — you must report these changes within 20 working days of the relevant event occurring. This includes amending your organisation’s details, such as its name or the name of any branches, address, contact details, head office details or replacing your Authorising Officer or Key Contact.

You have a duty to notify the Home Office

There is a positive duty on sponsor licence holders to report to the Home Office using the SMS Portal as sponsors are expected to monitor the immigration status of their employees.

Cooperating with the Home Office 

You must co-operate with UKVI and allow their staff full access to any premises or sites under their control on demand.

How the Home Office may conduct a compliance check

 The Home Office has increased the frequency and thoroughness of on-site inspections and audits, and compliance visits can often be unannounced. During the visit, officials may:

• ask you for additional documents or information
• verify documents and information you have provided
• visit you on-site
• speak with sponsored workers
• make checks with other government departments, agencies or local authorities.

Risk of sponsor non-compliance

 The Home Office monitors sponsor compliance and any breaches can lead to civil or criminal penalties.

The Home Office may take the following actions (all of which can have serious consequences for a sponsor) where appropriate:

• reduce your CoS allocation or set it to zero
• downgrade the licence rating
• suspend the licence while further investigations are carried out
• revoke the licence
• cancel the permission of sponsored workers.

Where it is suspected that a criminal or civil offence has taken place, this could be reported to the police or other relevant authorities.

Further details can be found in the Home Office Sponsor guidance Part 3 — compliance.

Our Services

Our immigration solicitors can help in many ways to ensure that your business is compliant with the immigration rules. We can help you manage your licence, prepare for a compliance visit and avoid penalties.

Some of the common services we provide in relation to compliance, include:

• Consultations
• Sponsor Licence review
• Compliance assistance
• Training with Key Personnel and those managing sponsored workers
• Mock Audits

For advice and help with immigration queries, contact carolyn.bowie@weightmans.com in the first instance.