Your resident labour
market test, part five:
record-keeping duties

6 July 2018

Part five of your guide to a compliant resident labour market test.

Conducting a compliant and successful Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT) as part of the Tier 2 migrant hiring process is not easy.

So far this guide has presented you with a step by step process to ensure that your RLMT remains compliant throughout its lifespan as well as achieving its objectives.

Now, however, it is necessary to spend a few moments looking at the record-keeping duties of Tier 2 Sponsor Licence holders as part of an RLMT.

In the eyes of the Home Office, the overarching objective of an RLMT is to ensure that the right candidate is hired for the role in question and, wherever possible, from within the UK’s resident labour market. It is therefore crucial to remember that being able to prove that your chosen candidate was the applicant best suited to the job is of equal importance as being able to prove that all rejected applicants were not suited to the role in question.

UK employers should keep this in mind when assessing all applicants who meet the job specification, and be able to justify their recruitment decisions via hard evidence.

Below is a list of those records and information which employers are required by law to retain on file when assessing candidates as part of an RLMT:

The total number of applicants shortlisted for final review along with their names, addresses etc.
Copies of all short-listed applications in the medium in which they were first received eg, emails, CVs or applications forms
Detailed notes of all final stage assessments
For rejected settled workers – the reasons and evidence as to why they were deemed unsuitable for the role
Evidence that the successful applicant meets all requirements listed by the advertisement
If a required skill level or qualification was listed by of the job ad, copies of any qualifications the successful candidate holds which confirm the required skill level eg, degree certificate or Higher National Diploma

If any transferable skills were included in the job description, it is also necessary to prove that the chosen candidate meets these requirements as well, and that unsuccessful applicants did not. Many employers find these interpersonal skills, like good communication or problem-solving ability difficult to evidence, but there are ways in which it is possible to do so. For example, references and detailed interview notes may suffice, or pre-employment aptitude tests such as personality tests.

We hope you have found this five-part guide useful in understanding the steps required to conduct a compliant RLMT.

Please contact us if you have any questions about the information contained in this guide or want further advice on how best to hire a non-EEA national.

See also your guide to a compliant resident labour market test.

Part 1 – How to conduct a Resident Labour Market Test

Part 2 – Where to advertise

Part 3 – How to advertise

Part 4 – The recruitment process