When a business applies for a Sponsor Licence, it is often driven by an urgent need to hire a particular individual, and the focus can be on applying as soon as possible rather than taking the time to consider the wider picture.
With the Home Office increasing the number of pre-licence compliance checks, it is more important than ever for a business that is considering applying for a licence to ensure that they are aware of, and have systems in place to help them fulfil, their sponsor duties. This will reduce the risk of issues being identified during a pre-licence compliance visit, which could lead to a refusal of the sponsor licence application.
There is a cooling-off period following refusal of a sponsor licence, during which a business cannot submit a fresh application. Depending on the circumstances, the business could be prevented from reapplying for a licence for twelve months. To avoid such disruption to recruitment plans, it is essential to ensure that you are able to fulfil your duties as a sponsor from the outset.
Our top tips for businesses thinking about applying for a sponsor licence are:
Ensure your right to work processes are robust
Prevention of illegal working is an important obligation that all employers carry. Sponsors, and potential sponsors, must ensure that they have robust right to work check processes in place, including systems for monitoring visa expiry dates.
When preparing for a licence application, potential sponsors should use the opportunity to review their existing practices, ensure that all right to work checks are in order and rectify any issues, as well as making sure that visa expiry dates are properly recorded and monitored. The Home Office always asks to see evidence of right to work checks during compliance interviews, so it is essential that these are checked prior to submission of a sponsor licence application.
Ensure you are aware of what documents must be retained for Skilled Workers
Sponsors must keep various records relating to their sponsorship duties, as set out in the Home Office guidance for sponsors at Appendix D: keeping records for sponsorship. This includes evidence of the recruitment process followed to identify sponsored workers and having detailed job descriptions on file, among other things.
Businesses should review this list prior to applying for their sponsor licence so that they are able to provide any requested documents to the Home Office during a compliance interview. If a business has not yet identified a person that they would like to sponsor, it is advisable to ensure that they are aware of the evidence of recruitment required and can explain their processes to the Home Office.
Have systems in place to comply with sponsor record-keeping duties
Businesses should consider this duty before they apply for their licence and decide how they will store the required records and whose responsibility it will be to ensure that they are collected.
Raise awareness within teams as to reporting duties
Sponsors must report various events to the Home Office within set timeframes. This includes changes to sponsored worker circumstances, which must be reported within ten working days. Depending on the business's size and structure, the team responsible for reporting these changes to the Home Office might not always be made aware of such changes. We therefore recommend that all line managers within the business, as well as HR teams, are made aware of the types of changes that must be reported, and that it is clear who they must notify internally and when such notification should be made. Our recommendation would be that the person responsible for reporting the changes is notified prior to the changes taking effect, so as to avoid deadlines being missed.
Be aware of business changes that must be reported to the Home Office
Certain changes relating to the business must also be reported to the Home Office within strict deadlines. This includes where the business goes from being a small business to a medium or large business, or where the business is party to a merger, takeover or similar. Some of these changes will require a report to the Home Office within a certain timeframe, whereas others may require a new sponsor licence altogether. It is therefore essential that businesses are aware of the changes that can affect the licence and can report these or seek advice if and when appropriate.
Nominate more than one Level 1 User
Level 1 Users are those that have access to the Sponsor Management System and can request and assign Certificates of Sponsorship, as well as report changes to worker circumstances and to the business. Since most reportable changes have deadlines, it is advisable that a business has more than one Level 1 User so that there is always someone available to report changes when they occur, and that the business's ability to comply with reporting duties is not affected by absence.
It is a relatively common occurrence for businesses that have sponsor licences but don't use them heavily to be left with nobody to access the licence if their Level 1 User leaves the business. In situations where there was only one Level 1 User, the business then has to contact the Home Office to regain access to the licence, and this can be time -consuming. If the business has more than one Level 1 User, they should not be left in a situation where they lose access to their licence in the event of a change in personnel.
MFMAC's Immigration team is on hand to provide support to any businesses considering an application for a sponsor licence and can provide guidance on sponsor duties as well as the sponsor licence application process.
