UK update: Remote working and skilled worker sponsorship

Many employers and employees see great advantages to remote and hybrid working but it can be difficult to find the right balance between working from office and home.

If you are a company currently sponsoring Skilled Workers and operating a sponsor management system it is crucial to consider the immigration controls that are mandatory and in line with SMS duties and responsibilities.

The scarcity of direction on this topic is underscored by the limited information provided by the Home Office in their guidance which reads:

“You do not have to notify us if you’re sponsoring employees who are working from home due to coronavirus.

Other changes to their working arrangements must still be reported as usual.”

The guidance was first published on 3 March 2021 and the latest update followed on 2 February 2022. As you can probably glean from the above, the guidance does not take into account the hybrid model which most businesses have embraced and continue to maintain since the start of the pandemic.

When an organisation is granted a sponsor licence, they are also given a number of duties and responsibilities which they must comply with or face the consequences of a breach. Management systems are the alpha and omega of sponsor compliance. Without a robust system for recording the work undertaken, salaries paid, and absences, a sponsor cannot monitor all changes in circumstance. Some of these changes must be reported to the Home Office on the Sponsorship Management System, two of which are changes in weekly working hours and work address.

If a sponsored employee is working at home as well as the office then an employer must be cognisant of hours worked. Salary thresholds for Skilled Workers are pro-rated, which means the amount you are paid is in relation to the amount you have worked. In short, if there is a drop in worked hours then there may be a knock-on effect on salaries which must be reported to the Sponsor Management System.

There may come a time in the lifespan of all sponsor licences where a company faces a compliance visit. It is more likely that the Home Office will give notice of their intention to inspect a business however unannounced site visits are permitted. A key area of investigation in these visits is of sponsored worker duties. If the job being done by the sponsored worker does not match the information on the Certificate of Sponsorship, which includes their place of work, then a penalty for non-compliance may be issued.

As such, a sponsor should report all hybrid arrangements they have with individual sponsored workers using the Sponsorship Management System. Record keeping should be a high priority procedure for any HR department, and it is only practical to report changes in an employee’s place of work.

It is worth noting that the content of this blog is aimed at the perspective of those already sponsored to work in the UK. As the boundaries of remote working are stretched, it may be the case that employers begin hiring individuals who intend to remain abroad. Should this be the case, then it is unlikely that the Skilled Worker visa category will be as common. This change may be all the more likely with the introduction of shorter-term business migration routes such as the Global Business Mobility visa.

By Burness Paull LLP, Scotland, a Transatlantic Law International Affiliated Firm.  

For further information or for any assistance please contact ukscotland@transatlanticlaw.com

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