The Home Office issued updated sponsor guidance in early March 2026. Amongst other changes, these introduce significant new sponsor obligations and expand the grounds on which the Home Office may take enforcement action.
We've set out below the key changes and their practical implications for employers.
Greater focus on sponsor compliance
The changes to the guidance reflect the Home Office's increasing focus on sponsor compliance. The updated guidance expressly states that holding a sponsor licence is a privilege and not a right. Sponsor licences are held at the discretion of the Home Office and the guidance makes it clear that the Home Office may refuse or revoke a sponsor licence based simply on “reasonable suspicion,” rather than proven breaches.
The guidance also highlights that breaches of sponsor obligations by employers do not need to be deliberate and that administrative errors may be enough to result in the suspension or revocation of the licence. We’ll have to wait to see whether the Home Office starts to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to breaches, but in the meantime, we recommend that all sponsors should conduct an audit to assess sponsor compliance and, where possible, remedy any issues as soon as possible.
The latest guidance also now explicitly requires sponsors to read all parts of the sponsor guidance documents and to remain aware of its contents and of any changes. This is an onerous obligation given there are multiple and lengthy guidance documents which are updated regularly. Sponsors should agree who will be responsible for reviewing relevant guidance and notifying the Key Personnel of the changes. That nominated person should ensure they sign up for updates from the Home Office so that that they are informed whenever the guidance changes.
New obligation to inform sponsored workers of their employment rights
Until recently, sponsors have only had to comply with employment laws. However, the guidance now requires sponsors to inform sponsored workers of their employment rights. Sponsors also need to retain evidence that they have done so.
Employers will therefore need to consider carefully how they will inform sponsored workers of their employment rights. Importantly, this new duty applies in relation to current employees and workers too. Therefore, sponsors will need to check that this information has been provided to current sponsored workers and that there is evidence of this. If not, this information needs to be provided promptly and kept on the sponsored worker’s file.
Certain information (such as entitlement to holiday and sick pay) should be included in the contract of employment or secondment agreement. In other cases, the information may be set out in employee policies or the staff handbook (such as health and safety, details as to how to bring a grievance, information about statutory leave and pay and the right to request flexible working, information about the right to appeal against a disciplinary decision and information about rights under the Equality Act). Sponsors will need to ensure that they have up to date policies in place and that these policies are provided to sponsored workers both when they first join the company and throughout their employment and that a record of this is kept. The guidance also indicates that training may be appropriate. Again, a record will need to be kept to be able to demonstrate that sponsored workers attended the training .
However, even employers with an extensive suite of policies in place will need to consider how best to notify sponsored workers of other employment rights, such as their right to rest breaks and rest periods under the Working Time Regulations, rights in relation to the National Minimum Wage, rights under the pensions auto enrolment legislation and rights in relation to trade union membership as these are not usually expressly set out in policies. Sponsors should consider providing a separate information sheet to all sponsored workers, detailing these rights, perhaps with links to relevant government websites for further information.
New concept of Eligible Roles
The previous requirement for there to be a “genuine vacancy” has been replaced with a new broader requirement whereby sponsors must be able to demonstrate that the relevant sponsored role is an “eligible role.” An eligible role must:
- Exist (or be reasonably anticipated to exist) when the Certificate of Sponsorship (“CoS”) is assigned
- Require the sponsored worker to perform the specific duties, responsibilities, and hours set out on the CoS
- Meet all requirements of the relevant sponsorship route, including skill level, salary thresholds, National Minimum Wage, and Working Time Regulations
- Be appropriate to the business in light of its model, plan, and scale
- Continue to meet these requirements throughout the sponsorship
If these requirements are not met the Home Office may refuse the sponsor licence application or revoke an existing licence.
Sponsors should also ensure that they carefully review any adverts which were placed and the job description and ensure that it reflects the actual duties the employee will undertake or currently undertakes. Care should also be taken to ensure that the correct SOC Code is chosen. The guidance states: “If we discover that a sponsored worker is working in a role that does not match the occupation code or job description for which the CoS was assigned…this will be a mandatory ground for revocation of your sponsor licence.”
Any discrepancies, particularly between advertised duties, the job description, the contract of employment, the details on the CoS and the work actually undertaken could lead to compliance action being taken by the Home Office.
This section of the guidance also reminds employers that if the business involves using no (or little) physical office space (a ‘virtual business model’), the Home Office will consider the type of work a sponsored worker will be doing and where the worker will be carrying out their employment duties. The guidance states that the Home Office may need to conduct a compliance check and/or see contracts between the sponsor and any third party.
Impact on salaries and salary payments
As sponsors will be aware, salary thresholds increased in April 2024 and again in July 2025. This means that in some cases the organisation’s usual salary for the role will not meet the minimum salary threshold. However, employers will need to take care that they are not selecting a particular SOC Code because the going rate salary is lower.
Businesses will also need to consider the position carefully if they wish to increase a sponsored worker’s salary beyond the normal pay scales for that role in the organisation in order to be able to sponsor or continue to sponsor the person or in order for the person to be eligible to apply for settlement. This could lead to potential discrimination claims from other employees who are paid less. Further, there is a risk that the Home Office could try to argue that the higher salary is not appropriate to the particular business, taking into account what is paid to others doing the same role or a similar role. Indeed, the latest sponsor guidance states there is a mandatory ground for refusal or revocation of a sponsor licence if a sponsor has artificially inflated the salary of a worker to enable them to meet the relevant salary threshold for a visa or settlement application.
In addition, where the CoS is assigned on or after 8 April 2026, sponsors must ensure sponsored workers are paid the required salary in every pay period (subject to certain exceptions), rather than over the course of a year. The Home Office is making this change to help identify underpayment promptly. The salary in every pay period must also equal or exceed the hourly going rate salary threshold for that period.
The updated guidance also emphasises that the actual salary paid, and hours worked must align with the details on the CoS (subject to certain permitted exceptions). The latest Immigration Rules now require sponsors to ensure that salary payments meet the relevant salary threshold over defined rolling periods, depending on the sponsored worker’s pay frequency and working pattern. In particular, if a sponsored worker works irregular hours, then their salary must equal 17/52 of the required annual salary over a 17 week period. However, the sponsor must ensure they have informed the Home Office of the fact the sponsored worker works variable hours. Advice should be sought if sponsoring someone whose pay and hours worked will vary.
Sponsors will need to ensure there are systems in place to flag any pay variations, especially for variable‑hours workers and will need to monitor hours and pay closely. In sectors where variable hours are common (such as health and social care and hospitality), employers will need to be particularly careful to monitor working patterns to prevent inadvertent breaches.
Importance of accurate details on the CoS
The guidance also includes a new section with details about how to match a role with a SOC Code and job description when assigning a CoS. This provides that the SOC Code, job description, and duration of sponsorship stated on the CoS must accurately reflect the role the business intends to sponsor. Also, as is currently the case, if the role changes after immigration permission is granted, the sponsor must report the change within 10 working days. If the change of role is such that the role falls into a different SOC Code, then a new CoS must be issued, and the sponsored worker will need to submit a change of employment Skilled Worker application.
Failure to report a permitted change, or a mismatch between the CoS and the worker's actual role, is a mandatory ground for licence revocation.
Right to work checks for sponsored workers
Sponsors are required to check their sponsored workers have the right to work in the UK and, if an audit is undertaken, the Home Office will also wish to see evidence that the sponsor undertakes right to work checks for all its employees. The latest changes also now provide that, where the sponsored worker is not the sponsor’s direct employee but is employed by a related organisation (where the sponsor guidance permits this), that organisation is responsible for carrying out the right to work check to establish a statutory excuse. However, to comply with the sponsor’s duties, the sponsor must either obtain and retain a copy of the right to work check undertaken by the relevant organisation or carry out its own check.
Further, if the sponsor is sponsoring a worker who is engaged by the sponsor in a genuine self-employed capacity, there is no requirement to establish a statutory excuse under illegal working legislation but the sponsor must still carry out these checks (and retain evidence it has done so) to ensure that the person has the legal right to work in the UK and is eligible to do the work they are being sponsored for.
If the sponsor is sponsoring a self-employed worker who is engaged by another organisation (where the sponsor guidance permits this), the sponsor can either do the check itself or ask that organisation to carry it out and obtain and retain the relevant evidence from that organisation.
What should HR teams do now?
In addition to any other steps outlined above, we recommend:
- conducting or arranging a sponsor‑compliance audit, including a review of processes and procedures and check all the necessary documents are on file for each sponsored worker and there are no inconsistencies between the documents.
- reviewing current sponsored workers and check their current and actual roles match the CoS details, including SOC Code, job description and salary pay period. Check if salaries will need to be increased in order for the sponsored worker to be able to extend their immigration permission and, if so, consider the business’s approach early.
- ensuring line managers are aware that HR must be informed immediately of any changes affecting sponsored workers and that processes are in place to notify the Home Office of changes within the deadline (usually within 10 working days of the change)
- ensuring information on employment rights has been provided to all sponsored workers. Ensure that the required evidence is also retained. Where necessary, update onboarding materials and ensure appropriate training is in place and that records of training attendance are kept.
- reviewing and, if necessary, arranging training for key personnel to ensure they are aware of the latest requirements
- ensuring at least one nominated person signs up to the Home Office website so they are notified when new sponsor guidance is published
- taking care to ensure that the new “eligible role” requirements are met before assigning the CoS and that the requirements continue to be met throughout the person’s sponsorship
- ensuring there are systems in place to flag any pay variations, especially for variable‑hours workers and monitor hours and pay closely. Take advice if sponsored workers hours and/or pay is variable.
