What happens if my business is found to be employing someone illegally?

Employers have a legal duty to prevent illegal working. If the Home Office finds that your organisation has employed a worker without permission, the consequences can range from: Civil penalties of up to £60,000 per illegal worker (£45,00 for first time offender) Criminal liability in severe cases Sponsor licence suspension or revocation Negative impact on future immigration applications Maintaining robust right to work checks and ensuring your HR systems remain compliant is essential to protecting your sponsor licence and avoiding enforcement action.

Sponsor licence compliance

Blake Morgan’s immigration lawyers provide expert guidance on sponsor licence compliance, helping employers meet Home Office duties and avoid enforcement action

Blake Morgan’s sponsor licence compliance lawyers help organisations meet UKVI duties with clarity and confidence. We guide employers through the complex rules governing sponsorship, ensuring they understand and fulfil all requirements for holding and maintaining a sponsor licence.

Our team supports the design and implementation of compliant HR systems, accurate record‑keeping, timely reporting, and effective document management, reducing the risk of delays, refusals, or enforcement action.

We prepare businesses for Home Office compliance audits and provide practical support if issues arise, including managing suspension or revocation risks and addressing complex matters such as migrant change reporting and ongoing eligibility checks.

Working with organisations of all sizes, we develop robust compliance frameworks aligned with evolving UKVI expectations, helping employers safeguard their ability to sponsor and retain overseas talent.

Whether applying for a licence or strengthening existing processes, we deliver clear, proactive guidance tailored to operational needs.

Arrange a call with one of our experts

Main areas of practice

Sponsor licence compliance is essential for any UK employer wishing to continue sponsoring overseas workers. It covers the ongoing duties organisations must meet to keep their licence in good standing, including accurate record keeping, timely reporting of organisational or migrant changes, maintaining genuine vacancies, and ensuring all sponsored employees meet visa requirements. Strong compliance processes help employers avoid delays, penalties, or Home Office enforcement action and safeguard their ability to access and retain global talent.

Compliance audits

A Home Office compliance audit is a detailed review of a business’s HR, record keeping and sponsor management practices to ensure they meet Home Office standards. It assesses areas such as worker files, reporting procedures, job role accuracy and use of the Sponsor Management System. The Home Office are moving away from suspensions and going straight for renovation where they consider it justified. Blake Morgan’s Mock Audit service help organisations identify gaps, reduce risk and prepare for potential Home Office visits.

Sponsor duties

Sponsors must maintain proper HR systems, keep required records, and report key changes through the Sponsor Management System. This includes monitoring right to work, tracking attendance, updating worker and organisational details, and retaining specified documents. Meeting these duties is essential to protect the sponsor licence and avoid enforcement action such as suspension or revocation.

Suspension

A sponsor licence suspension occurs when the Home Office temporarily removes an organisation’s ability to sponsor workers because it believes there may be compliance issues. During suspension, the business cannot assign new Certificates of Sponsorship and may face further investigation but can continue employing their sponsored workers in the interim. A suspension is a warning stage that gives the organisation an opportunity to respond, correct issues and prevent escalation to revocation.

Revocation

Sponsor licence revocation is the Home Office’s decision to permanently remove an organisation’s licence due to serious or unaddressed compliance breaches. Once revoked, the business loses its ability to sponsor workers, existing sponsored staff may have their visas curtailed, and reapplying can be restricted. Revocation represents the most serious enforcement outcome for sponsors.

Right to work

Right to work requirements are the legal checks employers must carry out to confirm that every employee has valid permission to work in the UK. These checks protect businesses from civil penalties and form part of the Home Office’s expectations for compliant workforce practices. They involve verifying identity documents, recording evidence and conducting repeat checks where required.

Challenging revocation of a Sponsor Licence

The Home Office does not allow an administrative review or appeal against the revocation of a sponsorship licence. The only method to challenge the legality, rationality or procedure is a Judicial Review in the High Court. Before initiating proceedings, a pre-action protocol letter is sent to the Home Office which can sometimes result in the decision being reversed. If the Home Office maintains their decision, you can then issue judicial review proceedings normally as soon as possible but in any event within three months from the date of the decision.

Our clients

Our immigration team supports a diverse range of clients, including multinational corporations, global financial institutions, high‑growth scale‑ups, SMEs, leading professional services firms, public sector bodies, as well as high‑net‑worth and private individuals. We work across all sectors where international talent is essential, advising HR teams, in‑house legal functions and business leaders on navigating complex immigration requirements with clarity and confidence.

K&Z Holdings Ltd

Soho Coffee

"Kawther (and the Team at Blake Morgan) has an exceptional understanding of our business and the complexities we navigate. She is meticulous, highly knowledgeable and quick and thorough in her responses. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her & Blake Morgan."
- Sarah Puleston, Head of People & Culture, K&Z Holdings Ltd

“We recently worked with Blake Morgan LLP in relation to a Skilled Worker matter, and I was very pleased with the overall service provided. Inderpal and the wider team were professional, responsive, and supportive throughout the process. Communication was clear and timely, and we felt well-informed at each stage of the matter. The team demonstrated a strong understanding of the requirements and ensured everything was handled efficiently. The matter was concluded smoothly, and the level of service provided gave us confidence throughout. I would not hesitate to work with Blake Morgan again and would recommend them to others seeking reliable legal support.”
- Abs Latif, The Beeches

"I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Blake Morgan Immigration Lawyers in my role as Recruitment Manager for Brunning and Price and Acorn Pubs, and I would highly recommend their services.
During this time, Yasmeen Hamza has supported us with a range of immigration and sponsorship matters, including successfully guiding us through the process of obtaining our sponsor licence. Yasmeen's expertise has been invaluable in helping us navigate what can often be a complex and fast-moving area."
- Recruitment Manager at Brunning and Price and Acorn Pubs

"Yasmeen and her team have been consistently professional, approachable, and highly responsive. The advice is always clear, timely, and practical, which has given us real confidence in our decision-making and processes.
It has been a genuine pleasure working with them, and we greatly appreciate the strong working relationship we have built with the team at Blake Morgan."
- Recruitment Manager at Brunning and Price and Acorn Pubs

"We have recently started working with Yasmeen at Blake Morgan and she has provided friendly prompt straight forward advice to us when needed, and supported our business in ensuring we are following best practice at all times."
- Chris Walsh, Head of People at Soho Coffee

"Trust & Wealth and Blake Morgan have collaborated on a number of UK immigration matters, particularly within the hospitality sector.
Throughout our collaboration, we have been consistently impressed by the team's technical expertise, responsiveness and pragmatic approach.
We value our professional relationship with Blake Morgan and are always confident referring clients to the firm when specialist immigration advice is required, particularly within the hospitality sector."
- Elena Pettenuzzo, Director, Trust & Wealth Ltd

"It has been a pleasure working with Nisha Patel and Inderpal Kallah. Both are outstanding professionals who combine excellent technical knowledge with commercial awareness and a genuine commitment to delivering exceptional client service. Their practical, solution focused advice has made them trusted advisers on complex UK immigration matters."
- Elena Pettenuzzo, Director, Trust & Wealth Ltd

Frequently asked questions

Sponsors must maintain accurate HR systems, keep required records, conduct right‑to‑work checks, monitor sponsored workers, and report changes (e.g., role changes, work location, organisational changes) via the Sponsor Management System. These duties apply throughout the lifetime of the licence.

Visits can be unannounced or announced, digital or in person and can also take place prior to a sponsor licence being granted. Compliance officers may inspect premises, review records, interview staff and sponsored workers, and assess whether your organisation’s systems meet UKVI expectations.

Failure to meet your sponsorship duties can lead to serious Home Office enforcement action. Breaches can lead to action plans, downgrading of the licence rating, suspension, or revocation, in no particular order. Non-compliance is reviewed on a case-by-case basis and certain breaches are taken more seriously as they are mandatory grounds for revocation.

Best practice includes regular internal audits, accurate record‑keeping, prompt Sponsor Management System reporting, clear HR workflows, trained Key Personnel, and periodic reviews of sponsor guidance to stay aligned with evolving Home Office expectations.

Employers have a legal duty to prevent illegal working. If the Home Office finds that your organisation has employed a worker without permission, the consequences can range from:

Civil penalties of up to £60,000 per illegal worker (£45,00 for first time offender)
Criminal liability in severe cases
Sponsor licence suspension or revocation
Negative impact on future immigration applications

Maintaining robust right to work checks and ensuring your HR systems remain compliant is essential to protecting your sponsor licence and avoiding enforcement action.

Highlights

Assisting a multinational company, registered Skilled Worker Sponsor, whose licence had become invalidated following the company acquisition – our immigration lawyers advised regarding the compliance issues and the position of the existing sponsored employees. The assistance covered managing risks involving the breach of the sponsor duties due to failure to report as well as advising and managing the application for the new sponsor licence simultaneously.

Assisting an EU national with a permanent residence card application (going forward falling within the scope of the EU Settlement Scheme) – this included advising on the break in residence continuity. The application was successful as the issue was fully addressed in the application submitted to the Home Office.

Advising an EU National who had been resident in the UK with Indefinite Leave to Remain status for over 30 years on a successful application for naturalisation as a British citizen to include advice on evidencing UK residence.