Businesses that hold a sponsor licence so they can recruit international workers must comply with a number of duties and obligations in order to maintain the licence.
The recent case of R (Supporting Care Ltd) v SSHD [2024] EWHC 68 (Admin) highlights the importance of ongoing compliance as a sponsor. However, in this case, the court decided that, for a revocation of a licence to be lawful, the Home Office must take into account a potentially wide range of factors.
The case related to a domiciliary care home which had had its sponsor licence suspended, and then revoked, following a Home Office compliance audit. The Home Office was not satisfied that the duties of one of the 68 sponsored workers matched the job description on the CoS, or that her role represented a genuine vacancy.
Failure to conduct a global assessment
On the facts of the case, the Administrative Court held that the conclusions reached by the Home Office regarding the specific worker were not unlawful. However, it was found that it had failed to conduct an ‘adequately reasoned global assessment’ of wider considerations such as:
- the impact of a revocation of the licence on the other 67 migrant workers and their families;
- the impact on vulnerable residents; and
- the adverse impact on the wider industry.
There was also no assessment of whether or not revocation of the sponsor’s licence was reasonable and proportionate given that the Home Office’s findings only related to one out of 68 sponsored workers.
Decision to quash the revocation
The Administrative Court quashed the Home Office’s decision to revoke the licence.
The judgment can be found here.
The Home Office is appealing this decision and there is a high likelihood, in our opinion, that the appeal will succeed.
A different outcome
It is rare that the Home Office’s compliance action is found to be unlawful by the courts. In another recent case — Prestwick Care Ltd & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 3193 (Admin) — the claimant care home was unsuccessful in its challenge.
The Home Office had uncovered a much wider range of breaches which included recouping the immigration skills charge from employees, paying a salary different to that on the CoS and failure to pay sick pay.
We would also recommend that those who are responsible for a sponsor licence read the judgment in that case.
Business immigration services: How our immigration solicitors can help
Our solicitors are experienced in all aspects of the UK’s illegal working legislation. If you require a compliance review of your current systems and processes, or legal advice on a specific issue, we would be happy to help. Please contact us or use the enquiry form below.
