As reported in the (short) good news section of our February newsletter, the Home Office announced that from 6 April 2024 onwards, a sponsor licence will no longer expire.

While this is being rolled out, sponsors have been given a 10-year licence validity period. Previously, sponsor licences were valid for four years only. Companies had both to pay a renewal fee and were often subject to an audit before being granted an extension of their licence, so the removal of this requirement is very welcome news.

However, it is important not to be complacent about your ongoing sponsor duties and responsibilities; not least because we believe the Home Office may well now conduct more frequent licence audits given (i) the extra time on caseworkers’ hands and (ii) perceived increased need for audits as a result of the removal of the renewal process.

The discipline of having to renew a sponsor licence every four years helped sponsors to check that they were complying with their sponsor duties e.g. that their HR systems were in order and that their key personnel were up to date.  Now that there is no longer a requirement to renew your licence, there is the obvious potential to let things slip.

Here follow a few simple tips for ensuring you are compliant with your sponsor duties on an ongoing basis and for avoiding any problems, should your business be audited. Please remember that Home Office audits can be announced or unannounced so we recommend that regular checks are undertaken:

1. Key Personnel on your Sponsor licence

• Ensure that the details of Key Personnel listed on your licence are always up-to-date and accurate. A sponsor must always, while the sponsor licence is valid, have an Authorising Officer in place who is (i) a current paid employee or office holder, and (ii) based in the UK.
• Ensure that you have at least one Level 1 user listed on your licence who is an employee, partner or director of your company. Normally, the Level 1 user listed on your licence must also be settled in the UK or British.

2. Record Keeping

• 
  Ensure you keep required documents on file for sponsored employees. Appendix D* of the sponsor guidance makes clear which documents must be kept on file.
  
• Ensure you are checking the right to work for all your employees (not just sponsored ones) in the correct way and retaining the appropriate evidence on file.**

* https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keep-records-for-sponsorship-appendix-d

** https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checks-employers-guide

3. Reporting Duties

• Report changes to your business (e.g. change of address, name, ownership) to the Home Office on the sponsor management system within 20 working days.
• Report changes to your sponsored workers’ circumstances (e.g. certain absences, place of work, job title and/or description, salary decreases, end of sponsorship) to the Home Office on the sponsor management system within 10 working days.

Risks of non-compliance

As mentioned in our February newsletter, the civil penalties for employing illegal workers have increased threefold to £45,000 for a first offence, and up to £60,000 for repeat breaches. Performing a valid right to work check continues to provide employers with a strong defence to this.

The ultimate sanction for any non-compliance with your sponsor licence duties is revocation of your licence and the curtailment of sponsored employees’ visas. Clearly this would not only be inconvenient but also a matter of public record and could severely impact your business’s operations in the UK.

To avoid such situations, it is essential that UK sponsors are familiar with both their duties and responsibilities as a UK sponsor and how to navigate the (sometimes complicated) sponsorship management system. To assist with this, we can provide you with a user-friendly guide on UK sponsorship which includes guidance on how to manage Home Office audits.

Whatever your priorities, our immigration team can advise you on managing your sponsor licence and navigating Home Office audits. Get in touch with our specialist team to talk through your requirements.

CONTACT A SPECIALIST

Alice Boyle

Alice Boyle is a solicitor with extensive experience in all areas of immigration law. She qualified in 2000 at Norton Rose and has specialised in immigration since 2003.

Prospect is a multi-disciplinary practice with specialist expertise in the energy and environmental sectors with particular experience in the low carbon energy sector. The firm is made up of lawyers, engineers, insurance and risk management specialists, and finance experts.

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This article is not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice and it should not be relied on in any way.