16 law A safe inward journey
Britain is open for business to foreign investors. But faced with a complex matrix of regulations and cultural sensitivities, overseas businesses seeking to internationalise their business to the UK need strong professional advice to ensure the journey – for both the business and its migrant employees – goes inwards and upwards. Chris Brazier, employment lawyer at B P Collins LLP, examines the role of immigration in inward investment
The UK remains Europe’s leading destination for foreign investment – but for foreign-owned companies seeking to trade in the UK, setting up and sustaining a business in an overseas territory presents numerous challenges. Making sure the inward journey runs smoothly and compliantly requires good, and on-going, professional advice that covers a rich tapestry of rules and regulations.
One of the first challenges is usually around immigration. International companies setting up operations in Britain typically require key employees from their domestic market to migrate to the UK. These
might be senior managers that will have a crucial part in the success of the company and therefore getting this process wrong can lead to both avoidable personal dramas and border control.
The most common mechanism to ensure an appropriate working visa and residency is to secure a Tier 2 Sponsorship licence for skilled workers. Securing a Tier 2 Sponsorship licence can be difficult to achieve and therefore requires proactive planning and a robust understanding of regulatory requirements in the UK. Moreover, the successful award of a sponsorship licence will depend
on companies meeting a range of criteria, some of which overlap with common aspects of employment law.
Prior to any sponsorship application, companies must also ensure that they have the appropriate policies and procedures in place – not least employment handbooks and contracts of employment. The ability to demonstrate effective procedures, as well as ensuring that relevant processes and documentation are drafted correctly, forms an important part of the assessment process. In some cases, applying companies can be subjected to an audit from the UK Home Office.
Another consideration for businesses is to have an absence management system in place. Once a sponsorship licence is issued, the company effectively becomes the authorising officer and is ultimately responsible for migrant employees. Businesses must therefore prove that their absence management systems protect against the risk of foreign workers going AWOL. Likewise, if an employment is terminated, businesses have a duty to inform the Home Office, but will
Osborne Clarke awarded ‘Law firm of the Year’ in blaze of successes
Osborne Clarke has been named Law Firm of the Year at this year’s Legal Business awards. The firm, which has offices in the City, Thames Valley and Bristol, was commended in particular for its recent growth trajectory and its focus on sectors and issues that are at the cutting edge of the law, such as building smart cities and the sharing economy.
This year, for the first time, the awards were judged by an independent jury of senior general counsel.
Andrew Saul, Osborne Clarke’s senior partner, said: “I’m delighted the firm has been awarded this honour. It is a result of years of planning and execution of our client strategy and delivering on our international expansion. The award is something that we will treasure as a sign of our progress.”
UK managing partner Ray
www.businessmag.co.uk
Berg commented: “Thanks to all our clients and our people who helped get Osborne Clarke where it is today. Everyone who works at OC should be proud of this award as we have continued to grow without compromising what makes OC great: its culture and can-do attitude.
“The award is also recognition of the 12 years of leadership of Simon Beswick, from whom I took over a few months ago. I’d like to add my personal thanks to him for his time at the helm as managing partner.”
The award comes hot on the heels of another win for OC. Partner Catherine Wolfenden was named Regulatory Lawyer of the Year at the 2015 Women in Compliance Awards.
Additionally the firm was:
• named as the sixth best law firm to work at by RollonFriday in this year’s annual survey
retain responsibility for the individual until they have left the country.
Clearly, the major business challenge is to ensure that individuals gain legal entry to the country, but at both ends of every migrant employment the potential for impactful human disruption is significant. Failure to meet visa requirements at the outset can mean entire families are refused entry – which can have distressing repercussions. Likewise, when a licence expires, families face the risk of being deported. The need to ensure that employees are supported with the best legal advice at all times is paramount.
Britain is indeed open for business. Getting the right legal team on side can help ensure your company flourishes in its new environment – and that your long-term investment goes inwards and upwards.
Details: Chris Brazier 01753-279029
www.bpcollins.co.uk
Lawyer plays key part in crime case
An Oxford lawyer has helped secure a settlement that will see tens of millions of pounds from the proceeds of crime being returned to the UK’s public purse.
Chris Potts, a partner in Blake Morgan’s commercial litigation team and an expert in fraud cases, acted for Griffins Insolvency Practitioners as the lead lawyer in a series of claims aimed at recovering money from a Caribbean bank at the centre of a notorious VAT fraud.
Senior partner Andrew Saul (left) with Ray Berg, managing partner
• named a leader in client service by Legal Business
• shortlisted for Corporate Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards for its work on the Carphone Warehouse/ Dixons merger and
• shortlisted for Management Partner of the Year for Simon Beswick’s leadership of OC.
Details:
osborneclarke.com
British insolvency firms working on behalf of HMRC have reached a settlement with the First Curacao International Bank (FCIB), which was used to launder millions of pounds stolen from the exchequer through so-called “missing trader” and “carousel” frauds. The frauds involved gangs importing and exporting small, high-value items while illegally avoiding VAT.
The settlement opens the door for further VAT claims across the world, and is ultimately expected to result in more than £80 million being returned to the exchequer.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2015
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