A gif of cartoon characters parachuting form a plane into a city, one arrives in an office to be given a skilled worker position

Sponsorship Licences for Employers

Posted on: 22 Sep, 22

How getting up to speed with them can open up a whole world of possibility when it comes to attracting talent to your business.

clark normal

Morning Oury how’s it going…

oury confusion

No time to chat, busy busy busy, so busy I can’t think

clark angry

Take a breath Oury, you look fit to burst, tell me what’s the issue? A problem shared is a problem halved.

oury rolls_eyes

I’m struggling with talent Clark. I just can’t seem to find any.

clark normal

Don’t do yourself down Oury. You have many talents. Admittedly some of them are quite well hidden.

oury angry

not my talent, wait! What do you mean well hidden? Oh never mind. Talent for expansion.

clark normal

I should be able to help, I’ve always been told I have a talent for expansion, especially after I’ve been on holiday.

oury confusion

*sighs* not my waistline Clark, my business. Business is booming, trouble is I can’t recruit fast enough to keep up. So I’m having to work all hours, plus of course all the time I have to spend trying to find great people to recruit. I’m running on coffee and working eight days a week. There’ll be no sleep ‘til bah! I don’t know when. So, busy busy busy, must dash.

clark positive

Wait Oury. I think I can actually help you. I was in a similar boat recently, with expansion and everything. Still am really.

oury angry

But you look so relaxed! What’s the secret?

clark laugh

You mean other than caffè corretto and the secret family mixture of 11 different ‘herbs and spices’? Simple Oury, I got a licence for…

oury angry

Looking relaxed? How would you get a licence for that seems odd.

clark normal

No, not a licence to chill Oury. I’m talking about a Sponsorship Licence.

oury angry

I don’t get it. How is being able to put my logo on sports events going to help me recruit people? I’m just one of a huge posse chasing these people, they’re in demand. Everyone’s talking about a ‘War on Talent’, there’s a fight for the right people.

clark angry

Well that’s a bit silly isn’t it, why would you want to wage a war on talent? It will definitely put them off.

oury normal

Hmm…OK, drop the martial metaphors, makes sense. So tell me about how a sponsorship licence can help me?

clark normal

I thought that you’d never ask. A sponsor licence is a licence approved and granted to a company to allow them to hire skilled workers from overseas by “sponsoring” them to work in the UK.

oury normal

Ah, I see, so I can effectively hire from a global pool of talent.

clark excitement

Exactly, and what is more, as well as being able to hire talent who are based overseas it allows you to open your doors to skilled workers who are already in the UK being sponsored by other firms.

oury angry

Oooh, that’s crafty. But hold it, there must be a drawback? Now you are going to hit me with it aren’t you?

clark normal

I thought that you’d like that. There are no drawbacks as such, but there are some costs up front and it does take some time.

oury doubt

I knew it, do I really need one? I bet it’s really expensive and takes ages.

clark normal

It’s not essential but since Br…

oury sick

Don’t say the B boy! I can’t hear it, you’ll make me ill.

clark normal

OK, this is not time to get ill. So since “relatively recent changes to UK immigration rules” and the huge pressures on finding talent in the current market it’s a really good idea for a UK business to get one. In reality, if you weigh the costs against avoiding unnecessary wage inflation and the time it takes against the time you are currently spending recruiting…

oury sad

All the hours Clark, all the hours and feels like such a slow ride to get even close to recruiting anyone, even then they get pinched from under your nose. It feels like all businesses in the UK are just finding and stealing each other’s staff. Linkedin has a lot to answer for!

clark positive

Quite. As I was saying, if you weigh your costs, the time you spend recruiting, not to mention the opportunity cost of not having enough staff to grow your business it really is the smart move. Whilst there are already plenty of places any UK businesses can get talent, Ireland, people from the EU with right to remain or settlement, youth mobility visas from Canada, Australia and New Zealand and anyone born in Hong Kong before 1997 being able to look truly globally gives you a definite competitive advantage when it comes to hiring and retaining talent. Plus wage expectations from people overseas might be lower than in the overheated UK market.

oury angry

OK, I’ll bite. How much does a sponsorship licence cost and how long does it take to get one?

clark normal

Well, how much really depends on a lot of different factors but it’s a mixture of fees to the Government and legal fees, so you’d need to talk to a professional to discuss the individual circumstances of your business. In terms of time, it’ll typically take three to six months to obtain the licence.

oury doubt

That’s quite a wide range! Why so vague?

clark normal

That’s down to the Home Office, it depends how soon they consider the application and whether they decide to visit the business as part of the process.

oury laugh

I heard they are all looking for football at the moment, as it’s been out of the country so long they want to stop it from coming home.

clark rolls_eyes

Very droll Oury and only eight weeks out of date, best to keep your jokes to yourself if you want to keep them onside. Given that the process is a long one it’s better to start as soon as you can.

oury normal

Good point, though I never have really understood the offside rule. OK, the new style me is being nice about the Home Office and applying for a sponsorship licence, so that means in three to six months I can hire whoever from wherever I like?

clark normal

Not quite Oury, but nearly. For a start this only applies to skilled workers.

oury angry

who are?

clark normal

Almost certainly the type of people you are looking for. A ‘skilled’ worker is defined as “someone who has a specialist and/or niche professional skill set. Companies often need distinct skills for jobs in occupations which are considered to be in short supply. People like engineers, tech specialists, scientists, architects, even accountants.

oury normal

And auditors, please tell me auditors count.

clark positive

Yep, last time that I checked they were an extra special type of accountant.

oury excitement

Phew, can’t hire them quick enough. They are in charge of saving the world.

clark normal

Once the licence is in place then the company can apply to sponsor workers, there’ll be a pause in effect as this can take up to a further two or three months to organise. And of course you’ll have to have met the criteria for obtaining the licence in the first place.

oury uncertain

There’s hoops isn’t there? There are always hoops to jump through

clark normal

Hoops, but no real hoopla, the vast majority of UK businesses that are hiring will already be compliant with the conditions. Things like having a current corporate bank account (not an E-money account, a proper bank registered with the PRA), having the right level of Employer’s liability insurance, evidence of being registered with HMRC as an employer, paying PAYE and National Insu…

oury normal

OK, OK, is there any chance that someone has listed this all out in a handy quick guide?

clark positive

Funny you should mention that, here’s one I made earlier. The only thing that people might not have in place already is the appropriate and robust HR systems in place to monitor sponsored workers, as well as great staff to manage sponsorship in the business like a HR manager or director.

oury awe

Oh we have a fabulous HR director.

clark positive

Naturally, you’ll also need to designate existing staff to undertake three roles. Authorising Officer, Key Contact and Level 1 User to manage sponsorship duties. Staff appointed in these roles must be based in the UK.

oury furious

Darn it Clark, this whole conversation started because I can’t hire enough people.

clark normal

Fear not, you, or your HR Director or Manager can act as the Authorising Officer and you can actually appoint third party organisations to act as Key Contact and Level 1 user.

oury normal

Do you know anyone reputable who can help?

clark normal

I’m pretty certain that I do, yes.

oury bliss

That’s a relief, I’m feeling calmer already.

clark positive

That’s good Oury, all you need to do now is sit down with your lawyer and get started.

oury laugh

But Clark, you are my lawyer!

clark laugh

I know, shall we go and discuss the finer points over coffee?

oury wink

Corretto?

clark laugh

Is there any other kind Oury? Is there any other kind?

Disclaimer

We are but two fictitious characters throwing out ideas and comment to stimulate debate and collect information. As professional service firms, we are open-minded people and think independent thought and debate are essential to help us understand as well as navigate complex problems. By joves – doing business across Europe (and the world) is set to become a whole lot more complex in light of recent seismic political events. As businesses – we provide information and hopefully some wisdom – and we see this blog and its caricatures merely as a much more fun, perhaps slightly controversial, way of stimulating debate and collecting ideas. We’re searching for some true pearls of wisdom, and as we find them, we’ll share them with you.

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