One of the core duties that particularly stands out, and would be checked by the Home Office during their audit, is record keeping. You will be required to maintain documentation in compliance with regulations set by the Home Office. If you are asked where would you refer for the guidance, the answer is Appendix D of the Home Office Guidance which serves as a roadmap, outlining the specific documents to be retained and the duration for which they must be stored.
DOCUMENTS TO KEEP:
Part 1: Documents for each sponsored migrant
- Right to work check: this is to ensure that you comply with your sponsor duty and to establish a ‘statutory excuse’ against liability for a civil penalty. This should be done before they start work and before the end of their permission to work. I will guide you through the first right to work check once the worker obtains their visa.
- Evidence of entry to the UK: This will be a stamp the worker will receive in her passport. I would advise to also keep a copy of her boarding pass. They will need this for their future applications as well.
- A copy of the worker’s NI number; (once they obtain this – the Home Office will forward the details to DWP and the NINO will be issued automatically. The worker will be notified in their emails.
- History of the worker’s contact details; Whenever the sponsored worker changes their telephone number or address, they must notify you, and you must keep the record of the new information.
- Record of the worker’s absences; The Home Office may want to know how you will keep record of your sponsored worker's absences. If you do not have an HR system in place, you can outsource it.
- A copy of employment contract.
Part 2: Evidence of recruitment
You may be required to provide evidence of a formal resident labour market test before hiring a migrant worker in some routes. This can be a copy of the job advertisement placed or a screenshot of the website hosting the advertisement.
This will help to show that the vacancy is genuine.
Part 3: Documents showing rates of pay for the sponsored workers
Documents to show that the relevant salary threshold has been met for the sponsored job:
- Payslips showing the name, NI number, tax code and any deductions made;
- Evidence showing the amount and the frequency of payments to the worker;
- A copy of employment contract;
- Evidence of any allowances made to the worker;
- Any other document set out in the relevant code of practice;
Part 4: Documents showing the skill level of the sponsored workers
To demonstrate that the sponsored worker has the relevant skill level to undertake the role, the sponsor should check and keep:
- Any qualifications that the sponsored worker holds
- A job description listing the duties and responsibilities of the job;
During the period of sponsorship, the documents relating to the migrant must be kept until whichever is the earlier of:
- one year has passed from the date of the end of sponsorship of the worker; or
- the date on which a compliance officer has examined and approved the documents if the examination date is less than one year after the end of sponsorship of the migrant (if you are ever visited by the Home Office).
If you breach your sponsorship duties, the Home Office may take action against you. The Home Office could suspend your licence or revoke your licence.
The Home Office may conduct a compliance check before they make a decision, or at any point during your sponsorship, to ensure that you are complying with your sponsor duties. They may inspect the records and/or systems to see if you have the records listed in Appendix D.
REPORTING DUTIES:
You will be under a duty to report certain events concerning the worker you sponsor. Reporting is undertaken through the sponsorship management system (SMS) by key personnel. You will be given new log in details once your application is approved.
- The following report needs to be submitted within ten working days if your worker:
- Does not attend work on their first day of employment
- Has their contract of employment terminated early
- Has a significant change in their contract of employment, eg change to hours, job title and/or salary
- Is absent from work without permission for ten or more days
- The deadline is ten working days if there is a change to the size of the organization.
- For other organisational changes, the timeframe to report is within 20 working days. The 20-day duty to report covers:
- Change of business name
- The sale or takeover of the business or part of it
- Ceasing to trade
You are also under a duty to report if there is:
- A change of company address
- A change in Authorising Officer
- Opening a new UK branch or premises
- Closing a UK branch or premises
CONSEQUENCES:
You need to ensure that you keep your knowledge in relation to sponsorship up to date. Whilst we are instructed, we will notify you of any significant changes in relation to sponsorship however you will have to inform us about any changes within your company.
The Home Office may at any point carry out an audit. This can be announced or unannounced. I am able to carry out a mock audit which would ensure that you are compliant.
Should the Home Office find a non-compliance within your company, they may:
- downgrade your sponsor licence from A rating.
- Suspend your sponsor licence
- Revoke your sponsor licence
- If the Home Office finds a non-compliance, you will be required to pay for a sponsor licence action plan and comply with it to reinstate your sponsor licence to A rating
A rating: when the Home Office grants the sponsor licence they usually rate the sponsor with ‘A’. This means that the sponsor is compliant. A rating will give you freedom to run the sponsor licence without interfering from the Home Office. You can issue certificates of sponsorship to new workers. If your licence is downgraded to ‘B’ you will be given a plan, for which you will have to pay a high fee, and you will have to carry out corrective action. This will take a lot of your time. It is therefore worth investing in compliance from the beginning.
The revocation of the sponsor licence normally prevents you from applying for a new sponsor licence for six to 12 months. The cooling-off timeframe can be longer, depending on why the licence was revoked.
On a practical basis, if your sponsor licence is suspended, you cannot recruit additional overseas workers. If the licence is revoked, you are unable to continue to employ your sponsored staff. Their work visas will be curtailed, requiring them to leave the UK early unless they can secure a job with a new sponsoring employer.
The consequences of losing a sponsor licence should not be underestimated as the adverse effect on recruitment, staff morale and your ability to meet contracts can all flow from non-compliance with sponsor licence reporting and recording duties.