Sponsored a worker but no work available? The risks employers need to know

A recent employment tribunal case has highlighted the risks employers face when a sponsored worker comes to the UK, but the promised work does not materialise.

The case involved a migrant care worker who came to the UK from India under a Certificate of Sponsorship naming Swan Care Solutions Ltd as his employer. The worker argued that they had accepted a job, completed the steps required to start work, and was ready and willing to work, but was not provided with shifts or paid.

The tribunal found that he was an employee and that the employer had made unauthorised deductions from his wages. He was awarded almost £30,000, including unpaid wages, holiday pay, compensation for failure to provide written employment particulars, and an uplift for failure to comply with the ACAS Code.

While this is a fact-specific decision, it’s a useful reminder that immigration sponsorship, HR processes and employment law obligations must be joined up and managed together.

Check the sponsored role matches the reality

Before issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship, employers should be confident that the role is genuine and that the work is available. This includes checking:

• the vacancy has been properly approved;
• the hours and salary meet sponsorship requirements;
• the contract reflects the role being offered;
• onboarding, training and start dates are clear;
• there is a process for allocating work or shifts.

A Certificate of Sponsorship should not be treated as a standalone immigration document. If the worker relocates to the UK on the basis of a specific role, the practical working arrangements need to support what has been promised.

Avoid speculative overseas recruitment

Hiring overseas talent can be an important way to plug the gap in skill shortages, but employers should be cautious about sponsoring workers before they know there is enough work available. Where a worker is tied to a sponsored role, a failure to provide work can have serious financial, practical and immigration consequences for them.

Employers should also keep clear records of communications with candidates and recruitment agents. If expectations are unclear or promises are made before the business is ready to provide work, this can create legal and reputational risk.

Review your flexible working arrangements

Flexible staffing models are common in sectors such as care, but they can be harder to manage where sponsorship is involved.

Employers using variable-hours or zero-hours-style arrangements should check whether those arrangements are consistent with the sponsored role. They should also ensure that pay, duties and hours remain aligned with both immigration requirements and employment law.

Where a sponsored role is presented as a genuine job with expected hours, employers should be careful not to manage it in practice as casual labour.

What should employers do now?

While this case does not create a new legal principle, it does show how quickly sponsorship issues can become employment law, HR and reputational risks. Employers sponsoring overseas workers should review:

• sponsored worker contracts;
• Certificates of Sponsorship;
• pay, hours and holiday records;
• onboarding and training processes;
• grievance handling;
• recruitment agent arrangements.

If you sponsor overseas workers, our business immigration and employment law solicitors can help you make sure your sponsorship processes, contracts and HR practices work together in practice, so you can support your people while keeping your business compliant.