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Compliance with your sponsor licence may turn out to be critical for UK employers who are heavily dependent on international hiring. Sponsor licence suspension can be a business disaster as you can lose the right to bring in a newly hired worker from outside Europe or extend the stay of your existing employee. Here, we introduce some key compliance tips that will prevent suspension and keep your business in harmony with Home Office demands.
What is Sponsor License Suspension?
A sponsor licence suspension will occur if the Home Office perceives certain major infringements in your compliance with the duties of sponsorship. The reasons that will lead to suspension are failure to conduct the right-to-work check properly, sufficient or proper record-keeping, reporting changes of circumstances of employees, and your employees being employed in roles different from their designated occupation. A suspension not only disrupts your hiring of new talent, but it could harm your company's reputation and eventually lead to licence revocation if the problems still need to be solved in a timely manner.
Key Tips to Avoid Suspension
1. Conduct Regular Internal Audits
Internal control check-up exercises are required on records in order to identify which aspects of the company’s compliance program are non-compliant before they escalate. These audits should be targeted at important compliance issues such as right-to-work checks, proper record-keeping, and reporting of any changes in the status of the sponsored employees. Always make regular audits because this is how you will catch and correct compliance issues before they escalate, putting you at risk of a sponsor licence suspension. Internal audits also demonstrate to the Home Office that your business is taking its sponsorship duties seriously.
2. Implement Robust Right-to-Work Checks
Right-to-work checks are the cornerstone of compliance with the sponsor licence. These checks ensure that all employees have the legal right to work in the UK and consequently help in stopping illegal working. Make sure your HR department understands how to perform these checks employing the most current Home Office published guidelines on the subject. Keep copies of all relevant documents, including passports and biometric residence permits, and note the date when all checks were performed. The right-to-work checks must be repeated for employees holding visas with expiration dates; all records should be stored securely and kept for at least two years after the employee has left your employment.
3. Have Correct and Up-to-Date Record Keeping
Correct record-keeping of all sponsored workers is a basic statutory requirement under your sponsoring license. This involves documents relating to their immigration statuses, contracts, contact information, and attendance records. Among the common reasons for which sponsors get their licence suspended is the inadequacy or inaccuracy of records. Avoid this by making your record-keeping arrangements effective, updated, and ready for review whenever audits or Home Office inspections are conducted. It also assists in smoothing the compliance processes to make digital copies of all documentation.
4. Report Changes Promptly
As a sponsor, you must report assigned changes to the Home Office within certain periods: the job role, salary, or work locations of sponsored employees or in your business if you move to a new address or change the business structure. Such changes should be reported within the specified time, as failure to do so may mean the sponsor licence suspension. This will ensure that any changes can be recorded and reported by the Sponsorship Management System immediately after the changes take place. The necessary updates can thus be supplied by the deadlines that are done.
5. Ready at All Times for Compliance Visits
The Home Office makes visits for compliance. Here, assessors visit the business to determine if the business is fulfilling the sponsor's duties. The visits can be announced or unannounced. On a compliance visit, Home Office officials would review your records, ask questions of those employees you are sponsoring into the country, and obtain a better understanding of your business. Be prepared that your HR and compliance teams could be in such a position to produce all required documents and be able to show clearly that your business is fully compliant with the sponsorship requirements. Carrying out constant training and simulation audits is necessary to make your team ready and self-confident during these visits.
6. Engage with Professional Immigration Services
Since sponsorship compliance is relatively complicated, many businesses enlist the service of an immigration service professional. A sufficiently experienced immigration attorney supports you through this, carries out compliance audits, and your employees' training on the latest Home Office requirements to ensure you are best prepared for a future compliance visit from the Home Office, including replying to any issues taken up by the Home Office with a view to protecting your sponsor licence suspension.
7. Set up a Compliance Management System
Such a system helps in managing sponsor licences with full automation in follow-ups of visa expiry dates to report generation that needs to be submitted to the Home Office and, at the same time, minimises human error while keeping all of your records relevant for compliance up to date. It supports proactive compliance with your sponsor duties while minimising the risk of suspension by the Home Office.
8. Stay Updated on Immigration Law Changes
UK immigration laws and Home Office policies are subject to constant change. Therefore, staying current with the most recent changes is critical to maintain compliance. Always check for any updates on the Home Office website. Consider a subscription to regular legal bulletins and attending various seminars in the industry that would keep the knowledge current. Training sessions for the HR and compliance teams should similarly be current to draw references, considering the latest regulations and best practices.
This video clearly explains how to protect your sponsor licence.
Get Professional Assistance
Compliance to avoid sponsor licence suspension is a proactive stance of having continuous audits, strong right-to-work checks, good record-keeping, and timely reporting of changes. Here are the key compliance tips: be better prepared for Home Office visits to reduce the risk of suspension and keep working with international talent. Our legal advice and legal representation are available to support your application to retain your sponsor licence or tift suspension due to violation. We will help you avoid any misunderstandings with the UK immigration laws and ensure that your organisation complies with them so that you can concentrate on increasing your staff. Please feel free to contact us today for any enquiries relating to sponsor licences.
A Y & J Solicitors is a specialist immigration law firm with extensive experience with your sponsor licence suspension. We have an in-depth understanding of immigration law and are professional and results-focused. For assistance with your visa application or any other UK immigration law concerns, please contact us at +44 20 7404 7933. We’re here to help!