The Home Office has introduced significant updates to its guidance for Skilled Worker sponsorship, with new rules coming into effect on 31 December 2024. Sponsors are now expressly prohibited from passing on the following costs to Skilled Workers:
Employers are now fully responsible for covering these fees. They cannot be recouped through clawback clauses or requested upfront from employees. Failure to comply with these changes could result in the revocation of a sponsor licence, which would severely impact an employer’s ability to hire and retain international talent.
These changes align with the existing prohibition on passing the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) to workers. They reflect the Home Office's commitment to ensuring the genuineness of sponsorship arrangements and maintaining the integrity of the immigration system.
Bilal Ehsan, Director at Howes Percival, comments:
Until now, the Home Office guidance did not explicitly prohibit passing some sponsorship-related costs, such as sponsor licence or CoS fees, onto employees. This lack of clarity created a grey area, as these costs were widely regarded as business expenses incurred to facilitate sponsorship. Risk-averse employers often refrained from passing these costs onto employees, recognising them as part of the cost of sponsoring a worker into the business. Moreover, there was a potential risk that passing on such costs could raise questions around the genuineness of the sponsorship arrangement – a concern that many businesses involved in bona-fide employment would want to avoid. The revised guidance now removes any ambiguity, making it clear that recouping these costs is strictly prohibited.
To comply with the updated guidance, employers holding a sponsor licence should take the following steps:
Navigating these changes can be challenging, but our Immigration Team is here to assist. We can:
If you would like to discuss these changes further or need help ensuring compliance, please get in touch with our immigration team here.
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