Sponsors now required
to report hybrid and home
working to the Home Office

13 April 2023

The Home Office has recently updated the guidance for sponsors to provide more clarity on the reporting duties for sponsors of Workers and Temporary Workers.

Licensed sponsors are required to uphold certain obligations known as ‘sponsor duties’ throughout the lifetime of their sponsor licence. As part of these compliance duties, there are certain circumstances where sponsors must report to the Home Office regarding their sponsored workers. This includes telling the Home Office about extended absences or any other significant changes such as a promotion, a change in job title or a reduction in salary, or a change in work location.

The outbreak of COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns forced many businesses to transition suddenly to remote working for most of their staff. At the time, there was no formal requirement for sponsors to tell the Home Office when their sponsored workers would be working from home.

However, the pandemic has undoubtedly transformed the way we work and despite the fact that lockdown restrictions have now been lifted, many businesses are not looking back when it comes to flexible working patterns. As workers demand greater flexibility, many companies have transitioned to a formal ‘hybrid’ working pattern or even given up office spaces altogether, telling their employees to work from home permanently.

With such working patterns evidently here to stay, the Home Office has published new guidance requiring sponsors to report any changes to a sponsored worker’s work location.

What are the reporting requirements?

Part 3 of the guidance for sponsors, which focuses on sponsor duties and compliance, was updated in March 2023.

The ‘reporting duties’ section of the guidance now states that sponsors must tell the Home Office if a sponsored worker’s normal work location (as recorded on their Certificate of Sponsorship) changes. This includes where:

• The worker is, or will be, working at a different site, branch or office of your organisation, or a different client’s site, not previously declared.
• The worker is, or will be, working remotely from home on a permanent or full-time basis (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 provides the following definition of a hybrid working pattern: “A “hybrid working pattern” is where the worker will work remotely on a regular and planned basis from their home or another address, such as a work hub space, that is not a client site or an address listed on your licence, in addition to regularly attending one or more of your offices or branches, or a client site.”

Sponsors are not required to report day-to-day changes in work location (for example, if a worker occasionally works at a different branch or site, or from home). You need only report changes to their regular working patterns.

What does this mean for employers?

Sponsors are advised to take this opportunity to review their current migrant workforce and ensure the work location recorded on each Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) accurately reflects the migrant worker’s normal working pattern.

If, for example, your organisation has recently amended the terms of all your existing employment contracts to incorporate a hybrid working pattern, we strongly recommend you report this change to the Home Office in respect of each sponsored worker currently engaged under your sponsor licence.

Any changes will need to be reported using the online Sponsorship Management System (SMS). Sponsors should ensure that internal processes are in place to conduct regular audits on their sponsored workforce to enable timely reporting and accurate record keeping.

Employers should also ensure that all relevant staff are aware of the new reporting requirements and provide refresher training where necessary. Smith Stone Walters can provide training and ongoing support for your business on using the SMS, including accurate reporting and record keeping to ensure compliance. For more information, please contact a member of our team on info@smithstonewalters.com, or call 0208 461 6660.

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