Sponsored Workers and Immigration Rules on Sickness Absences and Leave
With talk of new employment legislation to strengthen workers’ rights combined with the Home Office's focus on sponsor licence compliance, our Immigration Solicitors look at the rules for employers on reporting sickness absences of sponsored employees.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For immigration law training and legal advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Employment law and sickness absences by sponsored workers
There are employment law considerations when an employee is off work due to ill health. These apply whether the employee is a sponsored worker on a Skilled Worker Visa or Health and Care Worker Visa or someone who has British citizenship or settled status.
The employment law considerations include matters such as:
- Has the employee complied with their employment contract and with HR policies about notifying you of their absence and providing fit note evidence where necessary?
- What is the employee’s sickness record like? Does a further period of sickness trigger a back-to-work meeting and discussion with HR about their time off work?
- If occupational sick pay is discretionary, will you exercise discretion and pay the employee whilst they are off work?
- Is the sick leave due to an injury or illness sustained through employment? For example, a senior care worker off work with a bad back that she blames on lifting residents at the nursing home or a care worker saying a head injury was due to a dementia sufferer lashing out. If so, what are the HR policies on safe working practices and were they followed?
- Does the nature of the employee’s illness require a phased return to work and how can that be managed with other employees?
- Does the absent worker have a disability and need reasonable adjustments to return to work? If so, are they possible to make?
There are many other employee absence employment law considerations. However, when the worker is a sponsored employee in the UK on a Health and Care Worker Visa or Skilled Worker Visa your HR team also needs to consider:
- Sponsor licence reporting and recording duties
- The impact of noncompliance with the immigration rules and the impact on the sponsor licence
Sponsor licence duties and sponsored worker’s absences
If your absent employee is subject to immigration controls as they are employed on a Work Visa it is crucial that they comply with their visa conditions and that your key personnel comply with their sponsor licence reporting and recording duties.
Your HR systems should flag up if a worker reporting an absence is a sponsored employee as the immigration rules require you to monitor sponsored staff, keep absence records and report using the sponsor management system account if the absence falls within the category of a reportable absence.
A sponsored worker’s absence on sick leave may not be reportable on the sponsor management system if it is classed as a permitted absence. The worker’s time off work may not be classed as permitted if the employee has not complied with the company policy on reporting sickness or provided a fit note.
If an employee on a Work Visa goes on long-term sick leave their absence may become reportable.
Reportable absences, where a report should be made within ten working days, include if the sponsored worker is:
- Absent from work for more than ten consecutive working days without permission (this does not count if sick leave or holiday absence was permitted)
- Away from work when they were due to start their employment
- On unpaid leave for more than four weeks (the leave could initially be paid and therefore not reportable so key personnel need to keep an eye on the sponsored worker’s change in status)
- If the worker’s employment ends for any reason, including sickness record or continued ill health
You also need to report using the sponsor management system if:
- The worker’s salary changes. For example, if your company only pays SSP or if occupational sick pay is set at half of the employee’s salary
- The sponsored employee loses their job for any reason, including that they can no longer perform the role because of their ill health. Termination of employment will result in the employee’s Skilled Worker Visa or Health and Care Worker Visa being curtailed
Immigration Law Training from OTS Solicitors
At OTS Solicitors our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers understand how hard it is for your HR team and key personnel to keep up with changing immigration rules and reporting and recording requirements.
That’s why we provide:
- A sponsor Licence Management Service
- Bespoke Immigration Law Training tailored to your business needs
Our Sponsor Licence Management Service is designed to reduce the hassle and time involved in sponsor licence management and ensure that minor compliance issues don’t get missed and end up placing your sponsor licence at risk of suspension or revocation.
Our Immigration Law Training is provided by our specialist Sponsorship Licence Lawyers. The training can cover topics, such as:
- Absences from employment and immigration rules and employment law
- How to conduct right-to-work checks and when to repeat them
- Getting ready for a sponsor licence application
- Annual audits of HR files
- Sponsor licence troubleshooting
- Recruiting from overseas
- Certificate of sponsorship allocation
- Changes to sponsored employment, such as pay rises or cuts, promotions or different job roles
- The essentials for newly appointed key personnel
We can provide in-person training or webinars and Zoom meetings. Talk to us to discover how our Immigration Law Training or sponsor licence management service can help your organisation.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For immigration law training and legal advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
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