The Government has announced a new set of measures to crack down on rogue employers who shamelessly ‘repeatedly flout visa rules or commit serious employment breaches’. The measures, I'm sure, will be welcomed across the health and social care sector. 

However, the lack of detail and an indication of the timings of these measures is not helpful for scrupulous employers who are already battling growing costs with National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Insurance (NI) increases and potentially burdensome administrative measures of the Employment Rights Bill 2024 and now have the uncertainty of further ‘sponsorship hoops’ to jump through. 

Government commitments   

• Employers who ‘flagrantly flout’ visa rules or commit serious employment breaches (including NMW infringements) will face extended bans from hiring overseas workers. These bans will increase from 12 months to two years.  This is likely to be what is currently known as the ‘cooling off period’ after a sponsor licence is revoked, which means that a new sponsor licence cannot be applied for during this length of time.  This period can already be longer than 12 months in certain circumstances, but the announcement indicates that two years may become the norm rather than 12 months.
• Action plans for businesses committing minor breaches will be extended to 12 months maximum – whilst these action plans are in place, employers will be restricted on their ability to bring in new workers. Should employers not fulfil the requirements of these action plans, their sponsorship licence will be revoked.   
• New powers to ensure employers are required to pay associated costs of international recruitment themselves rather than pass on to the workers. We have no more detail on whether any costs can be passed onto the workers.   

Providers’ response

As we noted above, we have little indication of the specifics of these changes or the timings. 

The Government figures suggest that their rhetoric is being matched by increased targeted visits to businesses; 856 in October 2024 which is a 55% increase on the number in October 2023.    While we wait for the details and timings, we advise the following:

• Be prepared for an increased likelihood of visits from UKVI; ensure your procedures, paperwork and compliance documentation are accurate, current and demonstrate no indication of any breaches.  We can assist with this by providing checklists to assist you in carrying out your own checks, training on sponsor licence compliance, or carrying out a mock inspection for you.
• With the threat of action plans being extended and the impact of that extension, should you receive a notice of an action plan, ensure you are quick to respond and seek specific advice if necessary. 
• The issue of recouping costs is a tricky one. Whilst we know that certain costs, such as the Immigration Skills Charge, cannot be recouped from the employee, we don’t know whether the Government will extend this out to others or all costs.  For further advice on repayment costs, do read our August Blog on drafting fair repayment clauses. In the absence of any further direction from the Government, we understand that some fair and reasonable recouping of costs which reflects the exact loss and tapers off as the worker remains in employment, remains lawful.  Once we have more specific wording from the Government on what repayment costs, if any, remain lawful, we will let you know. 
• As many of you may know from reading our blogs on the Employment Rights Bill, the Government is bringing together the enforcement of various key employment legislation (including labour enforcement and modern slavery) under one enforcement body: The Fair Work Agency. A key aspect of this enforcement body is the powers that will be placed in their hands. The Agency will be able to issue a notice requiring people to provide information, it will be able to enter business premises to examine and even seize documentation and it will be a criminal offence to knowingly or recklessly produce false documentation or information and to intentionally obstruct enforcement action.  Whilst this is not a huge change to what the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority can already do, we will watch to see what impact the Fair Work Agency will have on providers.  

If you would like any further information on this announcement from the Government or how we can help you with sponsorship and immigration matters, please contact hazel.findlay@anthonycollins.com.