It was reported on 16 July 2024, that the Home Office revoked the sponsor licence from Renaissance Personnel Ltd, a recruitment company for health and social care professionals registered in 2002. This company is one of a few that are part of the NHS international recruitment of Healthcare Professionals Framework. This framework sets out a compliant and ethical route by ensuring NHS pre-employment standards are met, and connects NHS trusts with dedicated staff.
According to reports, the Home Office raised concerns about whether vacancies at Renaissance Personnel Ltd were genuine and whether the overseas staff sponsored by the company were being paid at all. The sponsor licence revocation has meant that over 100 migrant workers sponsored by the company, and their family members are at risk of being removed from the UK unless the workers can find another job with a sponsor holding an A-rated licence within 60 days. A number of the migrants recruited by this company have told reporters that they paid thousands of pounds to recruitment agencies abroad before being sent a job offer and Certificate of Sponsorship from Renaissance Personnel Ltd. The company which is in the process of challenging the revocation, maintains that it has no affiliation with any foreign recruitment agency.
Renaissance Personnel Ltd is not the only company of this kind under under a microscope for allegedly sponsoring foreign workers to come to the UK to undertake non-existent jobs, in particular, in the health and social care sector.
As part of its package to tackle abuse and exploitation of care workers, on 11 March 2024, the Home Office implemented the following changes:
- restricting care workers and senior care workers from bringing their dependants to the UKI – those already on this route will be able to remain with their dependants or bring their dependants where they haven’t done so already
- care providers acting as sponsors in the UK must register with the Care Quality Commission, the regulator for health and social care.
From 4 April 2024, further changes were introduced including the following:
- Certificates of Sponsorship issued for applications on the Health and Care Worker Visa route for occupations paid by NHS bands will need to meet the national pay scale for their role or the new minimum salary threshold of £23,200 (formerly £20,960)
- raising the minimum salary threshold for general Skilled Workers (such as data analysts, IT and finance professionals, etc) who are sponsored by an NHS organisation will need to meet the new salary of £38,700
- removing the 20% ‘going-rate’ discount for migrant workers in shortage occupations.
Broadly, sponsor licence revocation can cause a devastating impact on a business (in particular, one as heavily reliant on foreign labour as the health and social care sector) and its sponsored workers. As a result of revocation, existing sponsored workers will have their permission to stay in the UK curtailed (as will their families), leaving them in a vulnerable position. In turn, the business will not be able to issue new Certificates of Sponsorship to prospective foreign workers. The revocation will likely have wider implications affecting business operations, domestic and international recruitment and reputation. It is therefore crucial for sponsors to ensure they are not operating their business in breach of their sponsorship duties as well as statutory obligations as employers.
The Home Office has broad powers to revoke a sponsor licence. There is no right of appeal against a decision to revoke a sponsor licence. However, it is possible to challenge the revocation by judicial review. The judicial review process involves asking the courts to consider whether the decision made by the Home Office is lawful, procedurally fair and rational. If the court finds it was not, a quashing order may be issued. Given the wide margin of discretion historically given to the Home Office by the courts when it comes to dealing with sponsor licences, it is particularly important to engage with the Home Office directly prior to engaging in a challenge by way of robust representations.
Where a company has had its sponsor licence revoked, it is only possible to submit a fresh sponsor licence application after a cooling off period of 12 months from the date of revocation. The new application must address the reasons why the previous licence was revoked.
If you require assistance with compliance as a sponsor licence holder, or have any questions with the points raised in this article, please contact a member of our immigration team who will be happy to assist.
If you would like further information please contact Elena Tsirlina +44 (0) 207 758 8170 elenatsirlina@cdsmayfair.com
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