UK employers must be mindful of offers of employment for migrant workers

Shara Pledger, commercial immigration expert at Pinsent Masons, said: “It remains crucial that employers plan carefully if they decide to apply for a sponsor licence and to sponsor migrant workers. Assigning sponsorship commits organisations to fulfilling specific offers of employment, and where those assurances cannot be met this can lead to issues with sponsor compliance, or in extreme cases such as this, an employment claim.”

It comes as, in a case reported by The Guardian, a migrant nurse succeeded in an interim hearing against a UK healthcare firm, leaving open the possibility of compensation for unfair dismissal after having his employment and sponsorship withdrawn. The nurse was dismissed after voicing concerns about the lack of work being offered to him as well as fellow colleagues who had also moved to the UK on the promise of full-time sponsored employment.

“The healthcare sector, especially social care, remains under pressure following the higher numbers of migrant workers brought into the sector in the past one to two years. In general, employers in social care may experience increasing levels of scrutiny of their relationships with migrant workers,” said Pledger.

Decisions have been taken in some cases to revoke sponsor licences where compliance breaches are perceived. However, there are also examples of licences being reinstated where Home Office procedures are not followed or are insufficiently thorough.

Employers can take steps to mitigate the risks associated with being a licensed sponsor. For instance, a licence should only be relied upon where there is a genuine vacancy in the UK which can appropriately be filled by a migrant worker with the required skills and experience.

“Over-promising will never assist a sponsor, not least because changes to the quoted sponsorship must be reported and will then be inspected,” said Pledger.

Where sponsors operate in higher risk sectors such as healthcare, they must be prepared for audit of key areas of concern. In social care this currently includes adhering to the stated hours of work as declared in the initial sponsorship, maintaining registration with the Care Quality Commission, and being mindful of the right to work of those not sponsored or sponsored elsewhere, including students and supplementary workers with restricted work rights.