Globalisation has changed how the world interacts, especially regarding recruitment. Big companies are pooling in employment from overseas because the main focus of any company has become finding the right people despite the geographical barriers.
This change came into the picture when COVID took over the world and in the UK when Brexit led to other challenges for employers and employees.
Not just that, but having a culturally diverse team is the new trend that companies are following. Not to ignore the fact that having diversity in a team encourages a healthy work culture and gives opportunities to people from all over the world.
Hiring from overseas isn’t an easy task, in any case. The visa procedures, documentation and travelling to the work country are a lot to handle for both the company and the employee.
In the UK, a business can only hire talent from overseas if they hold a sponsor licence for business. This licence allows companies, institutions and charities to hire talent outside the UK. As of 2023, there has been an increase in the sponsor licence application due to several reasons. Hiring from outside the UK has become a norm, especially for SMEs.
How can a Sponsor Licence benefit your recruitment strategy?
The benefits of having a sponsor licence for skilled workers are many but not limited to building a diverse team. Once a company acquires a sponsor licence, it proves they went through the Home Office’s inspections and passed the tests.
Not just that, but also the benefits of hiring for the long term while retaining talent and opening the opportunities to hire from a big pool of workers is something worth considering.
Many companies are able to run their business with the right talent, at minimal cost and with the benefit of having a diverse team.
How to get a sponsor licence UK?
Questions like ‘how to get a sponsor licence’ or ‘who can apply for sponsor licence’ are pretty frequent. Getting a UK sponsor licence is a straight-forward method, as per the UK government. In short, the process is quite simple: check the business’s eligibility, the job position’s eligibility to be sponsored, the type of licence required, deciding sponsor licence holder duties and finally, the sponsor licence application and sponsor licence fees paying.
What are some of the challenges faced by sponsor licence applicants?
Getting a sponsor licence for UK comes with its own set of challenges. Apart from the fundamental problems like correct or missing documentation, some other challenges could be a need for genuineness in the reason behind wanting a sponsor licence number. The Home Office runs a genuineness test to see if the company actually needs the UK sponsor licence and has sufficient resources to maintain it.
Another challenge could be failing to appoint the right personnel for sponsor licence obligations. This often results in refusal or the sponsor licence revoked.
Other than that, business insurance and HR compliance are something to look into carefully. The Home Office mentions that many sponsor licences got refused because of the inability of the business to prepare itself before applying for a sponsor licence for business.
Some cases in real life where City Legal Solicitors helped clients obtain a sponsor licence
Talking to our Head of Immigration, Adarsh Girijadevi at City Legal Solicitors, we learnt about many cases where our company has helped businesses with complex sponsor licence processes. One of our clients had a requirement to find personnel for more than 50 of their mobile accessories retail stores across the UK, and we solved the problem by helping them acquire the sponsor licence and the right personnel to fill their job requirements.
City Legal also assisted a care provider home with their 6 locations where there was a need for 50+ care workers. Even though the whole process took several months, we fulfilled the requirements successfully.
We have also assisted multiple convenience stores and off-licence stores in acquiring a sponsor licence, which is tricky for them. We have assisted a wide range of sectors and have filled positions from farmers to top scientists.
Our sponsor licence experts are always ready to help businesses meettheir requirements the fastest and best possible way. Drop your queries here: enquiries@citylegalsolicitors.co.uk or call us on 020 8175 4000 (press 1).
