Sponsorship Management System
Under the Points Based System, once an application for a licence is successful, the sponsor (normally an employer or educational establishment) will receive a sponsor licence number and be able to use the sponsorship management system, an online tool for the administration of sponsorship actions. Sponsors are provided with a username and password to log onto the sponsorship management system from the UK Border Agency website. (Note that for educational establishments acting as tier 4 sponsors, the sponsorship management system will not go live until Autumn 2009.)
The first step is for the sponsor to allocate four roles:
• Authorising officer – responsible for the activities of all users of the system (although ultimately it is the sponsor itself that is ultimately responsible and risks action being taken against it in the event of non-compliance)
• Level 1 user – able to undertake the full range of activities under the sponsorship management system
• Level 2 user – able to undertake a more limited range of activities under the sponsorship management system
• Key contact – the nominated point of contact between the UK Border Agency and the organisation.
These roles can be filled by the same person or different people but there can only be one authorising officer. It is for the authorising officer to decide how many people should have access to the system bearing in mind that the authorising officer can fill any of the other roles him/herself. In particular, if the authorising officer wishes to have access to the system, he/she must also set himself up as a level 1 or level 2 user, although additional level 1 and level 2 users can be appointed. (Note that the sponsor should appoint only one level 1 user at the time of application for a licence but that additional level 1 users can be nominated via the sponsorship management system after a licence has been approved.) Whilst not necessarily undertaking the tasks on a regular basis, our advice in most cases would be for the authorising officer to also be a level 1 user.
The sponsor should also appoint one key contact. As before, the key contact can be the authorising officer; it can be a single specific role; or combined with other roles. But again, the key contact must also be a level 1 or level 2 user to have access to the sponsorship management system. In our view, there is logic to combining the role of key contact with that of level 1 user. The level 1 user is responsible for setting up accounts for level 2 users.
Note that the UK Border Agency make background checks on the authorising officer, key contact and level 1 user.
The authorising officer must be a paid staff member or office holder of the organisation and cannot be a “representative”, a contractor, member of a third party organisation, temporary staff member or un-discharged bankrupt.
The key contact, level 1 and level 2 users can be paid members of staff or a “representative” acting on behalf of the organisation but cannot be a contractor engaged for a specific project. Level 1 and level 2 users (but not the key contact) can also be members of a third party organisation engaged to deliver an organisations HR function and level 2 users can be staff supplied to an organisation but employed by an employment agency.
“Representatives” must be qualified to provide advice in accordance with Section 84 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 or a regulated member of a designated body (or working under the supervision of such a person) listed in the Act.
Veristat is regulated by the OISC, is qualified to provide immigration advice and able to act as your “representative” in helping with the completion of licence applications, acting as the key contact and in undertaking all or part of the roles of Level 1 and 2 users. Contact us now at info@veristat.co.uk or on 0844 335 1619 for a preliminary discussion of your requirements.
We would also welcome hearing your views and experiences of using the sponsorship management system for inclusion in future articles on this blog. Contact us on info@veristat.co.uk
Friday 16 January 2009
Register of Sponsors
Register of Sponsors
Under the Points Based System (PBS), employers or education providers who wish to act as “sponsors” (that is, employers who wish to employ non-EEA nationals or educational establishments who wish to recruit non-EEA students) require a licence.
Licences can be applied for under tiers 2, 4 and 5. Applications under tier 3 are currently suspended.
Tier 2:
• Skilled workers
• Intra-company transfers
• Sports people
• Ministers of religion
Tier 4:
• Students
Tier 5:
• Creative and sporting workers.
• Charity workers;
• Religious workers;
• International agreement workers.
Once an organisation granted a licence, it is added to the register of sponsors.
The register of sponsors has the name, location (town and region) and rating of the organisation.
Unfortunately, the register does not show the sector in which the organisation operates or any other details which could be useful for research purposes.
The rating for an organisation can be an ‘A’ or a ‘B’. An ‘A’ rating indicates that there has been no previous evidence of abuse by an organisation and that all the necessary systems are in place. The UK Border Agency defines a ‘B’ rating as indicating that “there may be previous evidence of abuse [of the immigration laws or serious offences in connection with the way the business is run], or a visiting officer has found evidence that the correct systems are not in place or not adequate to meet your duties [under the PBS].”
A ‘B’ rating is regarded as a transitional measure carrying with it an expectation on the part of the UK Border Agency that performance will improve within a relatively short time (normally 3 months) to warrant upgrading to an ‘A’ rating. An action plan will be drawn up setting out the steps required to achieve an ‘A’ rating. If an organisation does not comply with the action plan, its licence can be withdrawn.
There are two Registers of Sponsors that can be viewed on the Home Office website: one for employers with 6123 entries and the other for educational establishments with 724 entries. 96 of the organisations on the Register are rated ‘B’ (figures as at 12.1.2009). Note, however, that educational establishments are also included (repeated) on the ‘employers register. For further information see the UK Border Agency website:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/employersandsponsors/pointsbasedsystem/pbsregisterofsponsors
Veristat can help you with your application for a sponsorship licence and action plan to upgrade a ‘B’ rating. Contact us now at info@veristat.co.uk or on 0844 335 1619 for a preliminary discussion of your requirements
We would also welcome hearing your views on the register of sponsors for inclusion in future articles on this blog. Contact us on info@veristat.co.uk.
Under the Points Based System (PBS), employers or education providers who wish to act as “sponsors” (that is, employers who wish to employ non-EEA nationals or educational establishments who wish to recruit non-EEA students) require a licence.
Licences can be applied for under tiers 2, 4 and 5. Applications under tier 3 are currently suspended.
Tier 2:
• Skilled workers
• Intra-company transfers
• Sports people
• Ministers of religion
Tier 4:
• Students
Tier 5:
• Creative and sporting workers.
• Charity workers;
• Religious workers;
• International agreement workers.
Once an organisation granted a licence, it is added to the register of sponsors.
The register of sponsors has the name, location (town and region) and rating of the organisation.
Unfortunately, the register does not show the sector in which the organisation operates or any other details which could be useful for research purposes.
The rating for an organisation can be an ‘A’ or a ‘B’. An ‘A’ rating indicates that there has been no previous evidence of abuse by an organisation and that all the necessary systems are in place. The UK Border Agency defines a ‘B’ rating as indicating that “there may be previous evidence of abuse [of the immigration laws or serious offences in connection with the way the business is run], or a visiting officer has found evidence that the correct systems are not in place or not adequate to meet your duties [under the PBS].”
A ‘B’ rating is regarded as a transitional measure carrying with it an expectation on the part of the UK Border Agency that performance will improve within a relatively short time (normally 3 months) to warrant upgrading to an ‘A’ rating. An action plan will be drawn up setting out the steps required to achieve an ‘A’ rating. If an organisation does not comply with the action plan, its licence can be withdrawn.
There are two Registers of Sponsors that can be viewed on the Home Office website: one for employers with 6123 entries and the other for educational establishments with 724 entries. 96 of the organisations on the Register are rated ‘B’ (figures as at 12.1.2009). Note, however, that educational establishments are also included (repeated) on the ‘employers register. For further information see the UK Border Agency website:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/employersandsponsors/pointsbasedsystem/pbsregisterofsponsors
Veristat can help you with your application for a sponsorship licence and action plan to upgrade a ‘B’ rating. Contact us now at info@veristat.co.uk or on 0844 335 1619 for a preliminary discussion of your requirements
We would also welcome hearing your views on the register of sponsors for inclusion in future articles on this blog. Contact us on info@veristat.co.uk.
Civil Penalties and the Employment of Illegal Workers
Civil Penalties and the Employment of Illegal Workers
Ministers have described the introduction of the Points Based System (PBS) as one of the biggest changes to the UK immigration system in recent years. Sitting alongside the PBS, and arguably of equal significance has been the introduction of civil penalties of up to £10,000 for employers of illegal migrant workers.
It is well understood that ease of access to the workplace encourages illegal migrants and that conversely, making it more difficult for a person to take employment when not entitled deters illegal migrants. UK immigration legislation has for many years included provision for the prosecution of employers who have knowingly employed illegal migrant workers but successful prosecutions have proved difficult and as a result relatively rare. Operationally, the focus of the UK Border Agency and its predecessors has tended to be on tracing individual illegal migrants, a highly resource intensive and all too often unsuccessful task, rather than looking further up the chain at employers.
The introduction of civil penalties on 29 February 2008 along with the licencing of employers under the PBS has changed this landscape. The imposition more than a decade ago of civil penalties on airlines and other carriers for bringing people to the UK without adequate documentation provides a precedent for the effectiveness of a policy which looks to a third party to help police the immigration system. Whilst there is a sound argument to say that employers have always had a responsibility for who they employ, this is now being re-enforced by tough penalties and sanctions which are administrative rather than criminal, easier to apply and far more effective than anything that has existed in the past.
This is not just a cosmetic campaign. It is a completely different strategy which recognizes the motivation of illegal, economic migrants to work and seeks to shut down their ability to do so by involving employers and educational establishments in the policing of the system. The seriousness of the UK Border Agency’s intent is also seen in their publication on its website of the details of employers who have been found to be liable for a civil penalty for employing illegal migrant workers.
Publication started in June 2008 and includes penalties recorded for during the previous month. Data is for employers against whom notices of liability have been issued and civil penalties imposed for the use of illegal migrant workers. It is recorded for each of 6 regions reflecting the structure of the UK Border Agency and shows employer and company name, location of the company, number of illegal workers amount and date of the penalty. Latest data (November 2008) covers the period broadly May – mid September 2008 and shows penalties of £1,550,000 in respect of 334 illegal workers. Figures by region are:
North East, Yorkshire and Humberside
Number of illegal workers
47
Amount of civil penalty imposed
£230,000
Midlands and East of England
Number of illegal workers
73
Amount of civil penalty imposed
£312,500
Wales and South West
Number of illegal workers
49
Amount of civil penalty imposed
£237,500
North West
Number of illegal workers
51
Amount of civil penalty imposed
£232,500
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Number of illegal workers
29
Amount of civil penalty imposed
£140,000
London and South East
Number of illegal workers
85
Amount of civil penalty imposed
£397,500
Veristat can help you avoid employing illegal workers and the consequent risk of a civil penalty by carrying out the proper documents checks in accordance with the new regulations. Contact us now at info@veristat.co.uk or on 0844 335 1619 for a preliminary discussion of your requirements
We would also welcome hearing your views on the operation of civil penalty system for inclusion in future articles on this blog. Contact us on info@veristat.co.uk
Ministers have described the introduction of the Points Based System (PBS) as one of the biggest changes to the UK immigration system in recent years. Sitting alongside the PBS, and arguably of equal significance has been the introduction of civil penalties of up to £10,000 for employers of illegal migrant workers.
It is well understood that ease of access to the workplace encourages illegal migrants and that conversely, making it more difficult for a person to take employment when not entitled deters illegal migrants. UK immigration legislation has for many years included provision for the prosecution of employers who have knowingly employed illegal migrant workers but successful prosecutions have proved difficult and as a result relatively rare. Operationally, the focus of the UK Border Agency and its predecessors has tended to be on tracing individual illegal migrants, a highly resource intensive and all too often unsuccessful task, rather than looking further up the chain at employers.
The introduction of civil penalties on 29 February 2008 along with the licencing of employers under the PBS has changed this landscape. The imposition more than a decade ago of civil penalties on airlines and other carriers for bringing people to the UK without adequate documentation provides a precedent for the effectiveness of a policy which looks to a third party to help police the immigration system. Whilst there is a sound argument to say that employers have always had a responsibility for who they employ, this is now being re-enforced by tough penalties and sanctions which are administrative rather than criminal, easier to apply and far more effective than anything that has existed in the past.
This is not just a cosmetic campaign. It is a completely different strategy which recognizes the motivation of illegal, economic migrants to work and seeks to shut down their ability to do so by involving employers and educational establishments in the policing of the system. The seriousness of the UK Border Agency’s intent is also seen in their publication on its website of the details of employers who have been found to be liable for a civil penalty for employing illegal migrant workers.
Publication started in June 2008 and includes penalties recorded for during the previous month. Data is for employers against whom notices of liability have been issued and civil penalties imposed for the use of illegal migrant workers. It is recorded for each of 6 regions reflecting the structure of the UK Border Agency and shows employer and company name, location of the company, number of illegal workers amount and date of the penalty. Latest data (November 2008) covers the period broadly May – mid September 2008 and shows penalties of £1,550,000 in respect of 334 illegal workers. Figures by region are:
North East, Yorkshire and Humberside
Number of illegal workers
47
Amount of civil penalty imposed
£230,000
Midlands and East of England
Number of illegal workers
73
Amount of civil penalty imposed
£312,500
Wales and South West
Number of illegal workers
49
Amount of civil penalty imposed
£237,500
North West
Number of illegal workers
51
Amount of civil penalty imposed
£232,500
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Number of illegal workers
29
Amount of civil penalty imposed
£140,000
London and South East
Number of illegal workers
85
Amount of civil penalty imposed
£397,500
Veristat can help you avoid employing illegal workers and the consequent risk of a civil penalty by carrying out the proper documents checks in accordance with the new regulations. Contact us now at info@veristat.co.uk or on 0844 335 1619 for a preliminary discussion of your requirements
We would also welcome hearing your views on the operation of civil penalty system for inclusion in future articles on this blog. Contact us on info@veristat.co.uk
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