Although Brexit and COVID-19 have almost disappeared from the news headlines, immigration solicitors are now reading about the cost of living and recruitment crisis and the impact on UK businesses. For restaurant owners the first priority is getting the right staff in place. In this article Hans Sok Appadu, head of the business immigration team at OTS Solicitors, answers your questions on whether London restaurants can hire chefs and overseas hospitality workers.

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For advice on sponsor licences and immigration law call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.

Can London restaurants hire overseas workers?

A London based hospitality business can hire any individual who has a right to work in the UK if the recruit can successfully complete a right to work check. The right to work check must be completed by an employer before the employee starts their employment. If it isn’t completed correctly a company could be in breach of illegal working legislation.

The simplest and cheapest way to recruit hospitality staff is to find employees that don’t need their employer to hold a Home Office issued sponsor licence before they can employ them. With Brexit and the end of free movement for EU nationals, these non-UK nationals are now in short supply but the hospitality sector can employ:

• EU nationals in the UK with settled status or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
• International students -provided the hours of work are consistent with the conditions imposed on their student visa
• Graduate visa holders
• High potential individual visa holders
• Non-UK workers whose visas allow them to work in the UK, such as those in the UK on a family visa or partner visa
• Overseas workers with indefinite leave to remain status

Whilst that is a long list, the reality is that whilst student and graduate visa holders may be OK to recruit as bar and waiting on staff, they are not usually long term job hires. Most hospitality venues need one or two key staff who can offer a bit of continuity and where an employer hopes the investment in training won't be wasted. That’s why a restaurant business may need a sponsor licence so it can recruit staff from overseas on skilled worker visas.

Can London restaurants hire chefs from overseas?

If a chef is from overseas and doesn’t fit in with any of the above list, a restaurant can potentially employ them if:

• The restaurant gets a sponsor licence
• The chef gets a skilled worker visa

Whist a restaurant can employ a variety of overseas workers in the hospitality sector the job roles have to be on a government list of jobs with standardised occupation codes that are deemed eligible for the skilled worker visa. This is subject to the employer having a sponsor licence and allocating a certificate of sponsorship to the potential employee.

The hospitality sector jobs that are currently on the list include:

• Catering and bar managers
• Chefs
• Hotel and accommodation managers
• Publicans and managers of licensed premises
• Restaurant and catering establishment managers and proprietors

Each job has its own standardised occupation code. It is important to get the job name and description and code right. For example, an employer may refer to someone as a cook or senior bar staff or senior waiter but none of those job roles are eligible for the skilled worker visa, but chef, bar manager and floor manager are.

For the job applicant to qualify for a skilled worker visa, the job will need to meet the minimum salary threshold or the relevant percentage of the going rate for the particular job. The going rate is set by the government and is included with the list of jobs and standard occupation codes. Frustratingly for London and regional business owners, there is no London  weighting for salaries – they are all set at a national level. The percentage of the going rate used to calculate the minimum rate a UK employer must pay a particular hospitality worker depends on the job and on the worker. However, the immigration rules say that the minimum salary threshold must be the greater of the relevant percentage of the going rate for the job or the specified minimum of:

• £25,600 gross per annum or
• £20,480 gross per annum where the job applicant qualifies as a new entrant. For example, because they are under 26 years of age

Questions for Sponsorship Licence lawyers

The first question of many restaurant owners is whether their business will meet the criteria for a sponsor licence. There are also often queries about how difficult the sponsor licence application process is. With the right paperwork and procedures in place the sponsor licence application process can be relatively straight forward. Our business immigration solicitors and Sponsorship Licence lawyers have helped a number of restaurants to smoothly secure their first sponsor licence.

Hospitality businesses are bound to have additional questions, for example, about the costs involved in sponsoring an employee on a  skilled worker visa or sponsor licence and employment responsibilities. Our Sponsorship Licence lawyers are here to answer all your questions and help come up with business immigration solutions to meet hospitality sector needs.

UK Online and London Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers

For advice on sponsor licences and immigration law call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.