Businesses who commit serious or repeat offences face being banned from sponsoring migrant workers
The Home Office announced today that visa and employment laws are to be brought into close alignment as part of a crackdown on visa abuse and migrant worker exploitation.
Image credit: WikipediaEmployers who commit serious breaches of employment law or who repeatedly violate visa rules will be banned from hiring overseas workers for at least 2 years, the Home Office said in a press release.
"Currently, employers who flagrantly flout visa rules can only be sanctioned for a maximum of 12 months. Under our changes we intend the period for repeat offences to be at least 2 years, double the current length, with final cooling off periods announced in due course", the Home Office said.
New rules will target exploitation and ban unethical practices such as charging migrant workers fees for sponsorship. This issue has been prominent in the care sector, leaving many migrant workers burdened with debt. Employers will be required to pay the costs for recruiting international workers, with non-compliance leading to sponsor licenses being revoked.
The Home Office's press release stated: "The new powers will ensure employers who recruit internationally will be required to pay associated costs themselves, which is fair and reasonable for employers that do not recruit from the domestic workforce. While the longer action plans are in place, employers will face restrictions on their ability to bring in overseas workers. Failure to comply or make the necessary improvements will see their visa sponsor licence revoked."
Stephen Kinnock, the Minister for Care, said there has been an unacceptable rise in the exploitation and abuse of migrant social care workers by unethical employers. Since July 2022, the Government has revoked approximately 450 sponsor licences in the care sector.
Efforts to tackle illegal working and the exploitation of vulnerable migrants will be intensified, with rogue employers face a range of penalties, including fines, business closures, and potential prosecution.
The Government says today's new measures are also part of broader efforts to reduce the UK's reliance on migrant workers and to align migration policy with domestic labour needs.
Seema Malhotra, the Minister for Migration and Citizenship, provided the following details in a written statement to Parliament:
Statement
The Home Office is committed to minimising abuse of the visa and immigration system by unscrupulous employers. We are now setting out our first steps to deliver on our manifesto commitment to ban rogue employers from sponsoring overseas workers. We are setting out stronger controls to prevent employers who flout UK employment laws from sponsoring overseas workers, alongside going after those who show signs of non-compliance. No organisation is above the law or too big to fail.
For the first time, visa and employment laws will be brought into close alignment which will ensure those who come to work in the UK will have strong protections, especially in important areas of our economy such as Adult Social Care.
The government will deliver legislation for the flagship Fair Work Agency, ensuring fair and strong employment rights for all. Through this legislation, we will ensure that any business found guilty of serious employment law breaches, such as failing to comply with National Minimum Wage, will have robust action taken against them – up to and including having their visa sponsorship licences refused or revoked. Alongside this, we are strengthening powers to ensure the compliance of those on the register of licenced sponsors.
Over the last 2 years, there have been a growing number of allegations about sponsors seeking to charge workers for sponsoring them, particularly in the care sector. Where these charges are inappropriate, individuals can fall into work-related debt and experience a significant amount of harm. To combat this, we are now taking action to ensure that if a business wishes to recruit internationally, they will be required to pay for certificates of sponsorship, sponsor licences and the associated administration themselves. This will end the intolerable practice of recovering these costs from workers, which has led to the exploitation and unfair treatment of staff, particularly care workers who have been left in debt to their employers. These rules will apply to the Skilled Worker route first and will be in force by the end of the year. We intend to build on this in due course, widening it to other sponsored employment routes.
This government is also taking robust action against businesses that show signs of non-compliance such as committing minor visa rule breaches. Current rules impose Action Plans on businesses for only 3 months, but today we are committing to extending this to up to 12 months. While these longer Action Plans are in place, employers will be restricted in how they can use their licence, including limiting or removing the ability to sponsor overseas workers. If they do not comply with the Action Plan, fail to pay for the plan or make the necessary improvements by the end of their Action Plan, their sponsorship licence will be revoked.
We will take strong action against employers who do not comply with the rules, where necessary revoking their sponsor licence. We will strengthen this by making it harder for those with a long-term record of noncompliance to return to the sponsor register. The current penalties for breaking visa rules are too weak, with all revoked businesses only facing 12 months of sanctions - regardless of their track record. That is why we will be introducing longer cooling off periods for businesses that repeatedly flout these rules or commit serious immigration breaches, barring them from applying for a sponsorship licence over this period and therefore hiring overseas workers.
This set of new measures shows how seriously the government takes maintaining the integrity of the visa and immigration system, and ensuring those who would seek to abuse the system face strong consequences. These measures are part of wider efforts to tackle the root causes behind the UK's long-term reliance on international workers and wider action to link migration policy with skills and wider labour market policy. All those who work in the UK deserve decent employment with decent employers - this Government is working to ensure that happens.