Business Structure Changes and the Implications for Your Sponsor Licence
When you are contemplating making business changes it is easy to forget the impact of the changes on your sponsor licence and the extent of your sponsor licence compliance and reporting duties.
Our Immigration Solicitors specialise in sponsor licence management and can advise on compliance when you are making company structural changes as well as providing your business with a full Sponsor Licence Management Service.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For immigration advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Business changes and sponsor licences
There are three considerations with business changes and sponsor licences:
- Will the change affect your licence?
- Will you need a new sponsor licence?
- Is the change reportable?
If you don’t consider these points carefully the changes made to an existing business structure could invalidate your current sponsor licence or you could be in breach of your compliance duties. Non-compliance could result in a Home Office audit or in a worst-case scenario the suspension or revocation of your sponsor licence.
Suspension or revocation is a serious matter. A licence suspension means you can't recruit any additional sponsored workers. Revocation means you can no longer continue to employ your existing sponsored workers. They will have their Skilled Worker Visas curtailed and will either need to find a new sponsoring employer or leave the UK.
What business changes need to be reported to the Home Office?
If in doubt about how any business changes will affect your sponsor licence you should ask our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers. The main point to note is that a licence is not transferable if you are selling your company or acquiring a business in a takeover or merger and are planning on taking advantage of their sponsor licence.
Your key personnel need to report the following changes:
- Selling shares in the business affecting control of the company
- Change in ownership
- Full or part takeover
- Splitting the business into new entities
Changes need to be reported on the sponsor management system. The deadline to do so is 20 working days from the change date.
Complete takeovers
If your business has a sponsor licence and it is being sold or transferred to a third-party company the sponsor licence cannot be transferred as part of the sales package or deal.
If the company taking over your business does not have a sponsor licence they will need to make a first sponsor licence application. Our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers can assist with this.
If employees on Skilled Worker Visas or Health and Care Worker Visas or other sponsored Work Visas are transferring their employment under TUPE as part of the corporate deal then what happens to them? TUPE protects employees but action is needed by the company taking over the business.
If the company already has a sponsor licence to sponsor overseas workers in the same category they hold the licence for, then the changes need to be reported on the sponsor management system. Any restructuring because of the amalgamation or takeover needs to be thought through. For example, will Skilled Worker Visa holders still be doing a job that fits with their job description on their original certificate of sponsorship and with their job’s standard occupational classification code? If not, action needs to be taken. If the company intends to further expand then consideration needs to be given to asking the Home Office to increase the certificate of sponsorship allocation.
If the company taking over the business doesn’t have a sponsor licence and wants to continue to employ the TUPE workers they must apply for a sponsor licence. That must be done within 20 days. The timing means that the corporate lawyers involved with the merger or takeover need to work closely with specialist Business Immigration Solicitors to ensure that the sponsored employees can seamlessly move to the takeover company. This step can be crucial if the takeover company is reliant on the sponsored staff to meet existing contracts or delivery deadlines and does not want to be in breach of contract or suffer reputational damage.
How our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers can support your business through change
Whether it is working with your corporate lawyers, business advisors or accountants our specialist Sponsorship Licence Lawyers can help you with all your company changes and business immigration law needs and can guide you on:
- Company changes and reporting obligations
- New sponsor licence applications
- Reporting dormant sponsor licences after company changes
- Sponsor Licence Management Services
- Certificate of sponsorship allocation
- Sponsor Licence Management Services
- Immigration Law Training
- Mock audits and sponsor licence compliance advice
- Sponsor licence troubleshooting
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For immigration advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
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