The latest updates to the UK’s sponsor guidance, effective from 24 October 2024, bring notable changes for sponsors in the Worker and Temporary Worker categories, particularly as the Home Office begins implementing its new ‘Sponsor UK’ IT system.
This update outlines the key changes, the impact on sponsor licence holders and the steps to consider for compliance.
Pilot Beta for New ‘Sponsor UK’ IT System
The introduction of the ‘Sponsor UK’ system is part of an extensive upgrade to the Home Office’s sponsor management infrastructure. At this time, rollout of the new system currently comprises a private beta pilot limited to selected sponsors on the Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) route only. These sponsors are now able to use the new system for tasks like applying to sponsor new workers, extending existing workers’ stays, and reporting worker changes.
The new ‘Sponsor UK’ system replaces aspects of the current Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) management process. Currently, sponsors allocate and assign CoS to workers directly. Under the new system, sponsors submit applications, termed “sponsorship submissions,” to the Home Office, requesting permission to sponsor each worker. Once approved, they pay the sponsorship fee and receive a sponsorship reference number, which the worker needs to apply for their visa.
The system introduces some significant changes:
a. Sponsorship Submission Process: Participating sponsors apply for each worker individually rather than managing allocations. Upon submission approval, they provide the worker with the sponsorship reference number and relevant job details.
b. Integrated Systems for Data Transfer: If the worker can use the UK immigration: ID check app, certain details from the sponsorship submission will populate automatically in the visa application form, streamlining the process.
c. Limited Access for Existing Users: Current Level 2 users will not be granted access to the new system during the beta phase, requiring sponsors to reallocate duties within their teams.
At the current time, all sponsorship submissions in the new system are being manually reviewed by Home Office caseworkers. However, there are future plans for certain criteria-compliant submissions to be automatically processed. Participating sponsors are reminded that the new system ‘coexists’ alongside the Sponsor Management System, requiring use of both systems during the transition.
Updated Sponsor Guidance
With effect from 24 October 2024, the Sponsor Guidance has been updated; the following are key changes:
1. Expanded Sponsor Responsibilities and Compliance Checks
The guidance update includes the following additional responsibilities for licence holders, with some clarifications:
a. Right to Work Checks: Sponsors must conduct right to work checks on any new workers they plan to sponsor, and not just employ.
b. Licence Duration: Sponsor licences are now granted on an indefinite basis, except for certain categories like Scale-up and UK Expansion Worker routes, which are valid for a maximum of four years. The Home Office plans on how unused licences will be managed will be published separately.
c. Compliance Obligations and Grounds for Licence Refusal or Revocation: Non-cooperation during compliance checks or delays in compliance activity “will” now “normally” count as grounds for licence refusal. Also, assigning a CoS to ineligible workers or roles without genuine vacancies can result in suspension or revocation of the sponsorship licence.
2. Changes to Sponsor Licence Terms
These updates refine the requirements for sponsor licence eligibility and impose new grounds for licence revocation:
a. Sanctions and Suitability Requirements: The guidance now includes UK and UN sanctions, emphasising that sponsors must comply with all relevant sanctions. Sponsors potentially affected by sanctions should review their practices to ensure compliance.
b. Employment Business Restrictions: The term “employment business” has been added to the list of intermediary entities subject to restrictions, clarifying the scope of activities regulated under sponsor licensing rules.
c. Provisional Licence Revocation: Provisional licences can now no longer be downgraded, but will instead be revoked in the case of serious non-compliance.
d. B-Rating Limitations: Sponsors may only be B-rated a maximum of twice within a rolling four-year period. Compliance measures must be improved within this period, or the licence may face downgrade restrictions.
3. Updates to Specific Routes and Immigration Skills Charge Conditions
A few notable changes apply to particular routes, including the exemption from the Immigration Skills Charge under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). For Senior and Specialist Workers, the exemption now requires that the worker must have been employed by the sponsor for at least 12 months before CoS assignment. Updated rules for the Immigration Skills Charge in Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) cases clarify when and how the charge applies in these scenarios.
4. New Requirements for Evidence Retention
Appendix D has been revised to enhance the evidence retention requirements for sponsors. If a sponsor has listed specific qualifications in a job advertisement but hires a worker without them, they must retain detailed documentation justifying the decision to waive these requirements.
Implications for Sponsors
For sponsor licence holders, the new system and guidance updates imply several practical and operational adjustments:
a. Operational Adjustments for IT System Transition: Sponsors using the GAE route in the private beta will need to manage workers through both the new ‘Sponsor UK’ system and the existing Sponsor Management System, potentially increasing administrative tasks.
b. Increased Administrative Compliance: With added requirements around right to work checks, compliance during licence approval or refusal, and expanded grounds for licence revocation, sponsors should review and update their internal compliance and record-keeping processes.
c. Strategic Considerations for Licence Usage: The indefinite nature of most licences places the onus on sponsors to make active use of their sponsorship privileges. As the Home Office is expected to monitor licence use, sponsors should avoid holding licences without active sponsored employees.
d. Enhanced Record-Keeping for Evidence and Compliance: The emphasis on documentation, particularly around qualifications and compliance justifications, signals the need for diligent record-keeping. Sponsors should update their document retention practices, ensuring records are readily accessible for audits and compliance checks.
Need Assistance?
With these updates now in effect, sponsors should ensure all relevant personnel are trained on the new requirements. Conducting an internal audit of compliance processes can help identify any gaps in record-keeping, right to work checks and compliance with the latest guidance.
For expert advice in relation to these developments, or any aspect of sponsor licence management, contact us.
Author
Founder and Managing Director Anne Morris is a fully qualified solicitor and trusted adviser to large corporates through to SMEs, providing strategic immigration and global mobility advice to support employers with UK operations to meet their workforce needs through corporate immigration.
She is a recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers as a legal expert and delivers Board-level advice on business migration and compliance risk management as well as overseeing the firm’s development of new client propositions and delivery of cost and time efficient processing of applications.
Anne is an active public speaker, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals
