Nation.better

Compliance responsibilities for non-settled vs sponsored employees

Compliance responsibilities for non-settled vs sponsored employees

Right to work check—a routine, but necessary, procedure to be performed by every UK employer where they request and thoroughly check each hired employee’s documentation or get a digital statement to confirm the right to work before new employees can commence their employment.  In some cases that are detailed below, however, ongoing monitoring and compliance procedures are required to prevent illegal working, and it is a direct responsibility of all UK employers to set up an efficient internal process and follow it through to stay compliant with regulations. If you employ British citizens or settled workers* then no further checks are required other than the right to work check. Additional compliance procedures must be set up for the following categories of employees that need certain permissions to legally work in the UK:
  • Non-settled employee: A person, who holds any of the following types of UK visas—spouse, student, global talent, ancestry, PBS dependant, start-up visas or EU pre-settled scheme statusthat allows them to legally work in the UK. Their immigration status doesn’t depend on their employer.
  • Sponsored employee: A worker, who is directly sponsored by the employer via a skilled or temporary worker visa route, their right to work in the UK is entirely dependent on the employer sponsoring their visa.
More information about how to sponsor skilled workers via the Skilled Worker route can be found here. If a company is a registered sponsor—one that obtains a Sponsor Licence from the Home Office to sponsor international workers via different work visa routes under their licencesome confusion may arise as to the right to work and other compliance responsibilities of the employer towards their non-settled and sponsored employees.

Non-settled employees

If you employ any non-settled employees the employer’s duties are as follows:

Since non-settled employees are not directly sponsored by the company, the employer doesn't have to report any changes in these employees' circumstances (such as changes in salary, working hours, role or duties, promotions) to the Home Office via the SMS (Sponsorship Management System).

Sponsored employees

When the company sponsors employees with work visas there are certain Home Office conditions that must be met for the company to continue with the sponsorship, such as reporting on salary, duties, role, and working hours.

Moreover, all the changes in employment like working and home addresses, salary/wages, absences, and any other migrant activities are required to be reported to the Home Office via SMS within a certain timeline (typically 10 or 20 days).

Any failure to act in compliance with the Home Office rules can lead to financial penalties, suspension or revocation of the sponsor licence, and subsequent loss of the legal right to work in the UK for all sponsored employees.

Table: Compliance responsibilities for non-settled vs sponsored employees

Nation.better’s automated platform will efficiently and smartly monitor sponsorship immigration compliance of your company and your sponsored employees in line with the Home Office regulations:

If you’re looking to learn more about the compliance requirements you must adhere to and the procedures you need to keep track of to maintain your sponsor licence, get in touch with the Nation.better team.

*Settled worker can work in the UK without restrictions and is any one of the following:

Related articles

Blog post heading

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium dolor...

Blog post heading

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium dolor...

Blog post heading

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium dolor...