In recent guidance published by the UK Home Office, employers are now expressly prohibited from passing on the costs of sponsoring workers to sponsored employees. Whilst the ban currently applies to the Skilled Worker Route, it is anticipated that this will soon cover all sponsor routes. This includes recouping or attempting to recoup the immigration fees associated with sponsored workers. Whilst the Home Office had previously prohibited employers on passing on the Immigration Skills Charge onto their sponsored workers, they have now put in place further restrictions on what can and cannot be recouped.
What will change?
The Home Office have outlined guidance to reflect their commitment to the Written Ministerial Statement of 28 November 2024. The following changes have been made:
- Skilled Worker sponsors are prohibited from passing on the cost of sponsor licence applications, and associated administrative costs, to a sponsored worker. If you already have an existing sponsor licence, this extends to any fees in adding the Skilled Worker route to the existing licence.
- The cost of a Certificate of Sponsorship (‘CoS’) cannot be passed on to a Skilled Worker. This change applies to any CoS assigned on or after 31 December 2024.
When will this come into effect?
This sponsor guidance was updated to reflect these changes and came into force on 31 December 2024. Whilst this change is effective immediately, employers should be aware that it will have a direct impact on sponsors who had previously sought to pass on some of the financial cost of sponsorship onto their sponsored workers.
Risks of non-compliant practices
If a sponsor tries to pass on prohibited costs onto a sponsored worker, their licence may be revoked by the Home Office. Revocation of a licence can result in financial loss, extensive administrative costs and waiting time for a new application, reputational damage to your business and a potential uproar from other existing sponsor workers who may now be faced with leaving the UK.
Whilst the cost of sponsorship can be high, sponsors must be careful about which costs they intend to recoup from their workers as the UK government is looking to clamp down on immigration-related exploitation of workers. Given the increased scrutiny and the potentially severe consequences of getting it wrong, we would advise any employers to seek legal advice where necessary.
How can we help?
If your business has a sponsor licence, you should now look to review and update your immigration policy, as well as any other policies which refer to passing on fees to workers. You should also review your employment contracts of side letters which may include “clawback” clauses to ensure compliance with changes to Immigration Law. Our Business Immigration team can help with the above, and we can also provide ad-hoc advice to ensure your business complies with the new guidance.
If you have any queries regarding how this change may affect your organisation, or how you can comply with this change, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our immigration team.
