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Survey Highlights Scale of Tier 2 Sponsor Compliance Failings - Are Your Sponsored Overseas Workers at Risk?

on Friday, 13 October 2017.

Immigration compliance can be a complex issue for many employers, particularly those holding a Tier 2 licence in order to sponsor skilled workers from overseas.

With Brexit on the horizon there has been an increased focus on the recruitment of foreign workers by UK businesses with the existing Tier 2 Sponsor Licence regime expected continue to play a significant role after the UK leaves the UK. A recent report in the Independent has highlighted a survey which suggests that many employers are at risk of losing their sponsor licences through failure to comply with the relevant rules. Problem areas highlighted by the survey include advertising, retention of the required documentation and records and reporting changes.

How Does This Affect Employers?

Employers holding Tier 2 sponsor licences should ensure that they are up to date with the current guidance issued by the Home Office on the duties they are required to comply with. In light of the survey results, employers should, in particular, note:

  • Advertisements

    Employers should make sure that advertisements placed in order to meet the requirements of the Tier 2 Resident Labour Market Test contain all of the information prescribed by the Home Office. Failure to do so could lead to severe delays while the vacancy is re-advertised, and in some cases might lead to the Home Office taking compliance action against you, for example, if they find that the requirements for the role were overstated in the advertisement.

  • Documentation and Records

    In addition to the Right to Work Checks which all employers should be conducting on staff, Tier 2 sponsors are required to retain a wide range of documents and have systems in place for ensuring that certain records are kept up to date in relation to the workers they are sponsoring. Failure to retain these documents and to make them available to Home Office compliance officers on request can lead to the Home Office taking action against you.

  • Reporting Changes

    Where employers are sponsoring Tier 2 migrants they need to ensure that they notify the Home Office of specified reportable changes in those migrants' circumstances . Relevant changes which must be reported include changes to the job title, core duties, the salary (other than bonuses or pay rises resulting from annual increments), work location, amongst others. Employers need to report these changes within 10 working days. Sponsors are also required to report certain changes to the organisation itself, so should be familiar with these reportable events and know what to do in the event any of them arise.

It seems quite certain that as a result of Brexit, sweeping reforms will need to be made to the UK's immigration system, possibly by as early as March 2019. Expansion of the existing Tier 2 sponsorship arrangements is almost certainly being looked at as part of this and so it is crucial that sponsors get to grips their compliance duties to ensure that they do not risk losing their licences.


For more information, please contact Tom Brett Young in our Immigration Law team on 0121 227 3759.

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