Hewitsons
Becoming a licensed sponsor –
is your business ready?
Businesses wishing to recruit workers from overseas post-January 2021 must become registered, licensed sponsors in post-Brexit Britain. Are you ready, asks Gemma Hill, senior solicitor at local law fi rm Hewitsons. Having left the EU in January, the UK is now in a transition period
in which overseas workers can continue to live and work here. T e government has stated that there will not be any extension to the period, which will end on December 31. T is means that from January, all overseas workers who wish to
come to the UK to live and work will be subject to a points-based system. T is system will enable skilled workers who have an off er of employment from a licensed sponsor to live and work here, subject to certain eligibility requirements. As an employer, if you wish to recruit workers
from the EU or further afi eld from January 1, 2021, and you are not already a licensed sponsor, you should consider making an application to the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to become one. Becoming a licensed sponsor carries several
onerous responsibilities and so it is important to consider whether your business is willing and able to comply with such obligations before you apply. Before applying for a licence, you should:
- Consider in detail why your business wishes to hold a sponsor licence. What vacancies would you intend to recruit migrant workers into? Would those vacancies meet the eligibility requirements? - Consider whether you have suitable HR processes in place to comply with the record- keeping and reporting duties. Are the contracts of employment and other employment documentation for staff up to date and easy to locate? Do you have the record-keeping systems in place to enable you to keep track of key dates, staff absences and changes in employee circumstances? - Ensure that your right-to-work checks are being undertaken in line with the UKVI guidance, that the appropriate records are kept and that such records are up to date and easy to locate.
ALL THINGS BUSINESS 35
Gemma Hill Senior Solicitor at Hewitsons
- Consider which staff would be appropriate to appoint to the key personnel roles, and whether they would meet the eligibility requirements and be able to manage the obligations placed on them within such roles. Failure to comply with your sponsor duties can
lead not only to the suspension or revocation of your licence, but also potential civil penalties and criminal convictions in respect of illegal working. It usually takes around eight weeks for an
application to be approved, although the UKVI is likely to receive an infl ux of applications in the lead up to January which could lead to delays in applications being granted, leaving some employers unable to recruit workers from outside the UK for some time. If your business may need to continue recruiting
workers from outside the UK from January, our advice would therefore be to start looking into the sponsor licence application process as soon as possible.
For advice or assistance, contact Hewitsons on 01604 233233
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