Businesses Warned About Crackdown On Sponsored Workers

Employment law experts at Birketts have warned that with the Home Office continuing to crack down on the regulations governing sponsored workers, businesses need to make sure they are fully compliant.

The warning from Birketts’ team in Sevenoaks, Kent, comes after figures recently released by the Home Office show that 1,948 sponsor licences were revoked between July 2024 and June 2025, more than double the 937 revoked in the previous year.

Businesses that hold a sponsor licence can employ workers who require a work visa, but they must ensure their HR and immigration processes comply with all sponsor duties. This means that anyone involved in managing these employees much have checked their rights to work and must be up-to-date on their responsibilities and the current requirements. 

Denise Osterwald, Legal Director at Birketts, said: “The main issues tend to be compliance failures, such as incomplete record-keeping, failure to pay the correct salary, deficient HR and immigration policies and procedures, and late/no reporting of changes to the sponsored employee or the sponsor organisation itself.” 

As the Home Office tightens up its enforcement for non-compliance, businesses may face financial fines, especially if found to have employed illegal workers, breached sponsorship duties repeatedly, or violated new rules, such as passing visa costs to employees.

Denise added: “Businesses need to understand that there is no right of appeal against a licence being revoked, and a business will have to wait at least a year before reapplying, which can have serious implications for a company’s operations.

“Being involved in failing to comply with the legal employment of overseas workers can also have a significant long-lasting impact on a firm’s reputation in their local community and industry.”

The increased scrutiny is also hitting new companies seeking to secure a sponsor licence, with around 44% of all applications refused in the year ending June 2025. Reasons given for the rejection range from not having the correct HR systems in place, the Authorising Officer not being able to articulate their business case in a pre-licence audit, and the business not showing sufficient funds in their bank account to be able to run the business, amongst others. 

It is very important that businesses already holding a sponsor licence are clear on their responsibilities and consider if they could pass a Home Office audit if it happened tomorrow. Those that are in the process of applying for a sponsor licence should ensure that they work closely with their immigration provider to pre-empt any issues the Home Office could raise. 

For further information on how to tighten up your HR procedures and to avoid having a licence revoked, contact the employment team at Birketts Sevenoaks on 01732 904800.

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