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The Home Office guidance has finally been amended to clarify the position on sponsor duties surrounding hybrid and remote working.
As discussed in our previous blog, the guidance was woefully out of date and left sponsors crying out for clarity on whether they were being compliant where sponsored workers were working from home. The new guidance makes it clear that permanent remote working and regular hybrid working patterns are permitted and sets out the circumstances in which sponsors must report to the Home Office.
What was the previous position?
For sponsored workers, their main work address must always be recorded on the certificate of sponsorship (CoS). Pre-pandemic, this would have most likely been the business’s office address. If the main work address changes, this needs to be reported to UKVI.
COVID-19 brought a significant shift in working patterns. Businesses were forced to be creative to minimise contact and many embraced remote working as a viable alternative to traditional office-based work. The shift to remote working has become the norm with more and more businesses having hybrid working policies in place for employees.
As discussed in our previous blog, UKVI did create new COVID-19 policies and confirmed that sponsored workers were allowed to work from home without any need to report the change if they were working from home due to COVID-19. However, the policy was uncomprehensive in situations where the sponsored worker is working in a hybrid pattern for reasons not related to COVID-19.
What does the new guidance say?
The new guidance confirms that:
- Sponsors must report the following changes in a sponsored worker’s normal work location (as recorded in their CoS):
- 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
- A hybrid working pattern is defined as “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.”
- The guidance also confirms that sponsors do not need 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). Sponsors need only tell the Home Office about changes to regular working patterns.
So what reporting duties do sponsors now have?
An increasing number of businesses are transitioning to an ‘officeless operation’, which presents unique challenges for recording employee work locations on the CoS. The employee's work location could potentially be their home address or any other remote location that qualifies as a "work location." Similarly, if an employee is working remotely on a permanent basis with little obligation to attend the workplace, this must be reported.
As per the policy, a hybrid working pattern is where the employee is working out of two locations (i.e. their home and the office) on a “regular and planned basis”. This would include where the employee is required to come into the office for a minimum number of days or work from home for a specific amount of days. A move to this type of pattern must be reported.
Where reports are made to the Home Office, sponsors should always be aware of their other duties, including ensuring there is a genuine vacancy/role and that the worker is required to physically work in the UK.
Occasional day-to-day changes in work location need not be reported. This could include where the employee has the discretion to choose their working patterns.
FURTHER INFORMATION
If you have any questions regarding this blog, please contact Marcia Longdon, Tim Richards or a member of the immigration team.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Marcia Longdon joined as a partner in the immigration team in January 2014. She has practised in the area of immigration, nationality and European law since 1998. She has had a long career in the field of immigration and is incredibly passionate about this area of law. She has won a number of challenges against the Home Office regarding complex cases, which have resulted in discretionary leave for her clients.
Tim Richards joined the immigration team as a professional support lawyer in June 2019. He is a solicitor with extensive experience in corporate and private client immigration matters and is responsible for the immigration team’s knowledge management and development.
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
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