Sponsor licence Compliance & Audit Guide

Overview

A sponsor licence holder is required to comply with clearly stated rules regarding the employment of migrant workers. Licence holders are deemed compliant when they follow the rules and regulations clearly set out in the Sponsor Guidance.

The Home Office is entitled to carry out a compliance visit as they see fit (also known as “compliance audits” and “inspection visits“), and there is zero tolerance for non-compliance.

A digital compliance inspection implies checking your information (records, evidence or information you have previously submitted).

Anyone deemed non-compliant may face fines, a civil penalty, or even a suspension/revocation of their Sponsor Licence.

This outcome can damage a business beyond redemption.

There are four areas to sponsor licence compliance. The core duties include:

1. Prevention of illegal working and monitoring immigration status
2. Record keeping duties
3. Reporting duties
4. General Duties

Prevention of Illegal Working and Monitoring Immigration Status

A set of rules aimed at preventing illegal employment and monitoring immigrations statuses include:

• Ensuring that all personnel files include proof of the right to work.
• Recording visa expiry dates for any employee with a visa
• Right-to-work documentation can be held electronically

Key Audit Preparation Points include:

• Carrying out regular audits of all employee files
• Maintaining a record of all employees, including name, nationality, work location, dates of employment, job title, current visa type (if applicable), visa expiry date, etc.
• Being able to demonstrate a full understanding of manual right-to-work checks and the new online system
• Maintaining a robust system for tracking visa expiry dates

Record Keeping Duties

Sponsors are obliged to maintain compliance by keeping records for each worker. This implies complying with immigration rules, respecting workers’ requirements, and temporary worker sponsor guidance.

The Home Office’s Appendix D lists the following relevant documents that should be kept on each sponsored employee’s file:

The less obvious documents include the following:

• Historical as well as current contact details
• Record of the date the employee entered the UK if not clear from their visa
• Payslips (or electronic access to)
• History of absences (or electronic access to)
• Evidence of recruitment to demonstrate the genuineness

Key Audit Preparation Points include:

• Knowing what Appendix D is
• Ensuring that you have a system to keep up-to-date and historic contact details for each sponsored employee, including their UK residential address, personal email and mobile phone number
• Keeping a general ‘Sponsor Management’ file including:
• your sponsor licence application and copy of supporting documentation for the application
• Relevant Home Office guidance: Appendix D; Sponsor a Worker – General Information; Sponsor duties and compliance; and Home Office Employer’s Guide to Right to Work Checks

Reporting Duties

The licence holder is required to report the following information to the Home Office’s Sponsor Management System (SMS), usually within ten working days:

• If the sponsored employee does not arrive on the intended Work Start Date stated on their CoS
• If the sponsored employee is absent from work without permission (more than ten working days)
• If the employer stops sponsoring an employee for any reason
• If the sponsored worker’s contract of employment terminates for any reason
• If there are any significant changes in the sponsored employee’s circumstances
• If the sponsored employee has a period of unpaid leave in excess of 4 weeks in any calendar year
• If you have any information which suggests that a sponsored employee is breaching the conditions of their leave
• If a sponsored employee’s employment is affected by TUPE or their sponsorship is eligible for transfer to another sponsor licence
• If there are any significant changes in the Sponsor’s circumstances

You must also give the police any information that suggests that a sponsored employee may be engaging in any criminal activity

Key Audit Preparation Points include:

• Ensuring your sponsored employees are working and paid in line with the details on their CoS and that appropriate SMS reports are made to reflect any changes

Having an effective system to:

• Monitor sponsored employees’ changes of circumstances, absences and whereabouts
• Ensure that your Level 1 user(s) are made aware of any relevant changes
• Be able to demonstrate to the Home Office that sponsored employees and their line managers are aware of the events that trigger a requirement to notify the Home Office

General Duties

As for the general duties, the Sponsor should make sure that:

• Sponsor licence key personnel are permanently based in the UK, and any changes to key personnel are reported via SMS
• The Authorizing Officer is in place for the duration of the licences which meet the requirements in the sponsor guidance
• The Authorizing Officer checks the CoS assigned to sponsored employees on a monthly basis
• There is one Level 1 user, who is an employee, to ensure you have full access to the SMS at all times
• Level 1 or 2 users have secure emails and do not share passwords

You must comply with the Home Office’s immigration laws and all parts relating to the Worker Sponsor guidance. In order to do this successfully, the Sponsor must:

• Employ only workers who are qualified, registered or experienced to do the job
• Not employ workers with no experience, qualifications or immigration permission to do the job and who are no longer entitled to perform the job in question
• Not assign a certificate where there is no vacancy or role which meets the Sponsored Worker criteria
• Only allow workers to undertake roles that are permitted by the conditions of their stay
• Only assign a CoS to a worker who you believe will meet the immigration requirements
• Not assign an undefined Skilled Worker Certificate of Sponsorship to a worker who requires a defined one

You have the following duties of cooperation:

• To allow Home Office staff access to any premises, any site under its control, on-demand to adhere to any action plan set by the Home Office
• To seek to minimise the risk of immigration abuse by complying with any good practice guidance that the Home Office or any sector body may produce for sponsors