Tier 2 licences: employers take note

Employers who have a tier 2 licence to employ migrant workers should take note of a recent case involving the revocation of a licence and of the right to employ migrant workers in the future. The case provides a useful analysis of the sponsorship system and the circumstances which could lead to revocation of a licence.

The employer was a nursing home with 65 employees of whom 11 were migrant workers. In a routine inspection to check whether the sponsor was complying with its responsibilities, various irregularities were discovered. The failure to explain these adequately led to the revocation of the tier 2 licence. The irregularities were a failure to provide:

• evidence to confirm that the resident labour market test had been complied with;
• copies of qualifications, shortlists or interview records relating to the recruitment of migrant workers;
• evidence of the right to work of one employee;
• a record of a visa expiry date for one employee on the relevant spreadsheet; and
• the fact that the certificates of sponsorship for several of the migrant workers recorded the incorrect place of work.

See R on the application of Raj & Knoll Ltd v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWHC 1329 (Admin).