Sponsor Licences in 2024

As of February 13, 2024, the maximum civil penalty for employing an illegal worker is:

• • £45,000 for a first breach
  • £60,000 for repeat breaches

Employers can face up to five years in prison for knowingly employing someone who doesn’t have the right to work. Other penalties for employers may include reputational damage as those companies who incur a fine are published online. The Home Office uses a sliding scale to determine the amount of the civil penalty, taking into account the employer’s compliance record and any mitigating factors. This scale is the same for companies based in Belfast or Northern Ireland as they are for companies located in London.

There has been a significant increase in compliance action taken by UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) against sponsors with regards to suspension and revocations of sponsor licences. Recent statistics published by UKVI confirm that between January 2024 and March 2024 UKVI revoked 210 sponsor Skilled Worker licences and suspended 309. This data shows the largest number of suspensions taking place in almost 10 years. These figures take into account all sponsors in Belfast, Northern Ireland, London and throughout the UK.

As part of the UK sponsor licence application process, businesses need to show that they are honest, dependable, and reliable. They must also be able to meet their responsibilities as a sponsorship licence holder. Specifically, the business must have suitable HR systems in place to meet their sponsor duties. As immigration lawyers we advise our clients in Belfast and London with the importance of having robust HR systems and procedures in place.

The sponsor must be ready in the event of a UKVI compliance visit, whether announced or unannounced, at all times. The organisation should have no unspent criminal convictions for previous immigration offences or tax evasion. Moreover, have no evidence of non-compliance with previous sponsorship licences and finally not have had a sponsor licence revoked in the last year. As immigration lawyers we advise companies in Belfast and London that the rules above apply equally no matter where in the UK the company is based.

Employers can reduce the risk of being liable for civil penalties by:

• Conducting regular audits of right to work check documentation and processes
• Providing ongoing training to staff involved in right to work checks
• Taking specialist immigration and/or employment law advice
• Taking swift advice when potential illegal working is identified

As of April 2024, employers who already hold a valid sponsor licence have seen their sponsor licences automatically extended for a period of 10 years, and those businesses that successfully apply for a licence after April will also receive a licence for a period of 10 years. For employers based in Belfast and London this reduces the need to set reminders of when the sponsor licence expires which previously used to be every 4 years.

The UKVI advise that they will complete an audit on each sponsor licence holder within the above period. This further emphasises the importance for any UK employer who holds a sponsor licence, regardless of the volume of sponsored employees, to remain vigilant and regularly maintain their licence. As immigration lawyers we outline the importance in considering the likeliness that your organisation whether in Belfast or London will have an audit at some time whilst holding the sponsor licence with the UKVI.

In the event that a sponsor has their licence revoked, the implications can be severe whether based in Belfast or London. The leave for all current sponsored migrants could be curtailed. The sponsor could be prohibited from applying for a new licence for a specified cooling-off period of 12 months from the date the sponsor licence was revoked; and perhaps most significantly reputational damage.

Considering the above, the suspension or revocation of a sponsor licence can have severe and detrimental impacts on business operations. As immigration lawyers we advise our clients in Belfast and London daily on compliance obligations imposed by the UKVI. We ensure our clients are doing everything possible to protect their sponsor licence from any possible action by the UKVI. Companies based in Belfast or Northern Ireland are facing the same threat of suspension or revocation as companies based in London. The UKVI will send officers from England to Belfast or Northern Ireland to conduct audits on companies domiciled here.

CMC Immigration Law is an immigration practice based in London and Belfast which provides UK immigration services and solutions to businesses and private individuals throughout the world.