What to Do If Your UK Sponsor Licence Is Suspended: Immediate Steps

A sponsor licence can be critical to a UK business looking to employ staff outside the EEA. Having your sponsor licence suspended is a very intimidating experience that can put a hold on any future sponsorship of workers and hugely affect business operations. This article outlines the steps to take if your sponsor licence is suspended, ensuring you understand how to apply for a sponsor licence again or work toward reinstating such a licence.

Understanding Sponsor Licence Suspension

The Home Office may suspend a sponsor licence whenever it believes there may be a risk the sponsorship duties will not be complied with. Common reasons for sponsor licence suspension relate to poor record-keeping, a failure to notify changes of a severe nature, failure to pay a salary, and not carrying out proper right-to-work checks. During your period of suspension, your business cannot sponsor new workers – your name will not be carried on the Register of Sponsors and will, therefore, alert potential applicants that this is the case, meaning that you do not have an enabling license​.

Immediate Steps to Take

A sponsor licence suspension will lead to compounding consequences if acted slowly. You should take these steps immediately after suspending or revoking a sponsor licence.

• Review the Suspension Notice

Please go through the Home Office suspension notice and understand the reasons given for it. The document will point out areas of non-compliance. Understanding these reasons is essential because they are the basis of your response to the Home Office.

• Seek Legal Advice

It is necessary to have a solicitor who is experienced in sponsor licence matters. Such a solicitor will help you advise on how to effectively answer the concerns of the Home Office on your business and assist in formulating a comprehensive response. Legal experts will also make sure that you understand how to avoid breaches in the future.

• Conduct an Internal Audit

You will need to audit your HR processes and compliance systems internally internally. Areas that the suspension notice brings out will be of particular interest—in particular, record-keeping, reporting duties, and right-to-work checks. You should swiftly identify and correct these flaws to prove to the Home Office that you are doing something to correct this.

• Implement Proper Measures

As a result of your internal audit, if necessary, implement corrective measures to be taken. These can relate to the proposal to improve the systems used by the HR department to improve its functionality, to provide further training to the employees who are involved in the sponsorship procedures, to improve the practices related to records management, etc. It is essential to keep records of all the changes that have been made because this information will be required when responding to the Home Office.

• Detailed Response Preparation

The requirements say that in replying to the Home Office, you should include all the points listed in the suspension notice in detail. The contents must contain evidence of actions that have been taken to change some of the practices and demonstrate other signs of commitment to compliance procedures. The above has to be responded to within the next twenty working days, which is normally the time that the Home Office has given to companies.

• Maintain Ongoing Surveillance

Future problems can be avoided by ensuring there is ongoing compliance. Be prepared to review and refine your compliance procedures continually and perform internal audits periodically, with ongoing training for key personnel.  A firm compliance framework will help you avoid any future sponsor licence revocation.

Preparation for Contingencies

After that, you will receive a response from the Home Office based on the information that you have submitted to them, and a decision will be made. The decisions could involve:

Reinstatement to A-rating

If the Home Office approves your response and corrective measures, it may restore your licence to an A-rating.

Downgrade to B-rating

Your license can still be downgraded to a B-rating, though, accompanied by an action plan to be followed if the Home Office still has qualms about your twelve-month record.

Revocation

If non-compliance issues are not addressed satisfactorily, the Home Office may cause your sponsor licence revocation​, and you would no longer hold the power to sponsor workers.

Importance of Compliance and Record-Keeping

The critical consideration for any business holding a sponsor licence is maintaining compliance with the sponsor’s obligations. These key areas include: 

Record-Keeping

It is the keeping of an adequate record of all the sponsored employees, their personal information, and employment contracts, as well as monitoring work status.

Timely Reporting

This will include reporting to the Home Office—in good time—any significant change in employment status or business structure and any breach of sponsorship duty.

Right-to-Work Checks

Proper right-to-work checks for all staff and accurate information about the date of these checks​ are kept.

Seeking Professional Support

Only an expert professional can spot the complexities of sponsor licence compliance or even deal with the suspension. Solicitors specialising in sponsor licence matters can help significantly in presenting your response to the Home Office,  effectively carrying out compliance measures, and helping you to apply for a sponsor licence again if needed. 

Conclusion

Whilst successfully challenging a sponsor licence suspension may not be easy, swift action along defined lines can ensure that the Home Office’s concerns are ameliorated and that the licence is reinstated. Hence, the main steps in line of action would be understanding the reasons, legal advice, internal audit, remedial measures, and taking steps to effect ongoing compliance. A Y & J Solicitors is a law firm which provides detailed guides on sponsor licence applications and all compliance issues related to sponsor licence revocation. You may schedule a consultation with A Y & J Solicitors today and keep running your business hate-free and competitive internationally.

A Y & J Solicitors is a specialist immigration law firm with extensive experience in how to apply for a sponsor licence. We have an in-depth understanding of immigration law and are professional and results-focused. For assistance with your visa application or any other UK immigration law concerns, please contact us at +44 20 7404 7933. We’re here to help!