Recruiting Migrant Workers Legally and Ethically
The distressed labour market is a major pressure point across many sectors and, as businesses struggle to staff their facilities, questions about the process and logistics of hiring workers from abroad are common.
Acuity Immigration partner Sabina Kauser often provides pointers for organisations at various stages of the process of applying for sponsorship licences. She is particularly keen to remind employers already in possession of a licence that the compliance requirements are ongoing.
“Employers must report and update the authorities on changes to their circumstances,” says Sabina.
“The Home Office can contact the licence holder to conduct an audit at any time. If they find that they are not in compliance, they can revoke or downgrade the sponsor licence, meaning the employer will no longer be able to employ workers from abroad. If the employer relies heavily on migrant workers, that’s most of their workforce out of action.”
Sabina also urges businesses to promote ethical recruitment practices. Much-needed migrant workers coming to the UK are at risk of exploitation by rogue providers and recruiters seeking to exploit the immigration system for financial gain.
The story might go something like this:
A legitimate, functioning care provider has a genuine need for staff and is granted a sponsor licence to hire workers from abroad. However, the provider then teams up with a rogue recruiter who charges foreign applicants way above market rate to arrange their visas, and begins to advertise fake vacancies to lure people to the UK and pocket the cash.
Migrant workers, in high demand from genuine employers to perform vital roles, are then stranded in the UK without work. These people are sadly vulnerable to further exploitation – for example, unreasonable demands, underpayment, modern slavery or sexual exploitation – in order to stay in the country.
“There is essential work to be done to create awareness of these practices, among businesses, their advisers and the applicants themselves,” says Sabina.
She has put together some key points to protect both employers and workers, and help businesses stay on the right side of the law.
Top tips for hiring migrant workers
- Employers: don’t simply rely on third-party agents or recruiters to conduct due diligence on applicants: do your own research into the background and circumstances of any potential hires to make sure they are the right person for the role.
- Migrant workers: identify a key contact at the potential workplace and do some research to make sure the role is genuine. Don’t just trust the agent or third party.
- Be aware of the costs for migrant workers to secure an appropriate visa. The Home Office provides exemptions and fee reductions in certain sectors. If the fee being charged by a third-party agent or recruiter is high, ask yourself why.
For more guidance on Immigration issues, reach out to our Acuity Law Immigration team for bespoke advice.
