Sponsors must now report hybrid and working-from-home arrangements to the Home Office

The Home Office has recently published an update to its guidance for sponsor licence holders. The guidance clarifies the position and confirms that sponsors must report any changes to the regular work location of a sponsored employee, to include hybrid and working-from-home arrangements.

Sponsors have long been required to report changes to a sponsored worker’s employment. The Home Office must be notified if there is a change to a sponsored worker’s job title, job duties, salary, work location etc.

Previously, the guidance did not specifically require sponsors to report working-from-home arrangements. This caused considerable confusion at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as many organisations switched to hybrid and working-from-home arrangements.

The guidance has now been updated to state that sponsors are required to report any changes to a sponsored worker’s regular work location, including the below scenarios:

• The worker is or will be working remotely from home with little or no requirement to physically attend a workplace

• The worker has moved or will be moving to a hybrid working pattern.

The guidance states that sponsors are not required to report day-to-day/occasional changes in work location, only changes to an individual’s regular work pattern need to be reported. If required, it is important to note that you must report the relevant change within 10 working days of it occurring.

Conclusion

With more companies shifting towards flexible working patterns, these changes represent an ongoing effort to adapt immigration policy to the ever-changing work landscape. This, in turn, demands greater compliance from the sponsor licence holders in order to avoid potential penalties.

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