Employers losing licence to sponsor migrant workers in UK highest on record: Migrants left with 60 days

LONDON Aug 23: The number of employers losing their licence to sponsor migrant workers is the highest on record, new Home Office data shows. Over 1,000 Skilled Worker licences were suspended or revoked in Q2 2024, compared to 179 in the same period in 2019.

Home Office figures released today show that in Q2 2024, 1,023 actions were taken against Skilled Worker sponsors, the highest since records began in 2012.

Thousands of migrant workers will be left in limbo, with just 60 days to find a new sponsor employer before their visa expires and they become overstayers.

“We need more safeguards for migrant workers whose immigration status is tied to their employer, and greater visa flexibility to enable them to find a new employer before their visa expires. Work visas should give migrant workers the freedom to change employers, and the ability to report exploitation and access remedy on the same terms as their British colleagues”.

“Even with an increased number of sponsors I think the numbers really show the renewed emphasis on compliance activities. It also definitely aligns with what we’re seeing in terms of increased compliance action ‘on the ground’ with clients being inspected and challenged on their compliance activities”, said a immigration solicitor from Krishmorgan Solicitors.

Currently, because sponsored workers’ visas are tied to their employer, if the business loses its licence following enforcement action by the Home Office, all sponsored workers employed by that business have their visas curtailed. Through no fault of their own, workers are left with up to just 60 days to find another licensed sponsor and apply for a new visa, before they become overstayers. In that time they cannot normally claim public funds and can only work up to 20 hours per week in a limited number of occupations.

Click to View Sponsorship transparency Data

Workers Rights’ Lessons from how other countries tackle exploitation

Policymakers must address the power imbalance inherent in sponsorship. Firstly, workers need time to escape exploitative employment. The 60 days workers have to find a new sponsor, if their employment ends, are insufficient in practice. The strict time limit leaves many workers trapped in exploitative conditions, struggling to resign and aware that reporting could result in the sponsor losing its licence. A simple, yet effective change would be to extend that time limit. This would follow in the footsteps of some of the UK’s international partners, such as Australia and Ireland, that have implemented a similar change to tackle labour exploitation.

Secondly, workers need immigration status security to find another sponsor. Currently, if migrant workers fail to find a new sponsor within 60 days, they become undocumented, unable to work legally, and at risk of immigration enforcement. Without valid leave and often financially vulnerable, they are unable to access legal remedies and are at risk of re-exploitation in the black market. The National Referral Mechanism alone is insufficient to resolve these issues. A new form of leave that grants exploited workers unrestricted right to work could be life-changing by allowing people to rebuild their lives and defend their employment rights through the justice system. A pilot of this very system has just been launched in Australia, while similar mechanisms exist in Finland and Ireland.

Finally, exploited workers should not bear the costs of obtaining another immigration status when sponsors lose their licence. The UK already operates one of the most expensive immigration systems in the world, imposing higher costs than Canada, Germany, France and the United States. Visa fees for sponsored workers, particularly for applications where workers are changing employment, should be capped at no more than the Home Office’s administrative processing cost. This will better enable workers to switch sponsors and escape bad employers without risking destitution.