Sponsor Licence Revocation (Worker Advice)
The revocation of a sponsor's licence can be a worrying and distressing time for workers. Below are some helpful steps and contacts to help get you through the worry and back to work again
UKVI Notification and Letter
If you have received a letter from UKVI telling you that your employer has had their Sponsor Licence revoked, then first of all our sympathies for finding yourself in this difficult and worrying situation.
UKVI will normally wait about two calendar months, after revoking the sponsor’s licence, before notifying each sponsored worker. Therefore, the 60-day period will start from the date on the Home Office (UKVI) letter informing you that your visa is being cancelled, not from the date your sponsor loses their licence.
You can continue to work, as per the conditions attached to your visa, until the 60-day period has expired.
If you remain in the UK beyond the 60-days, without finding a new sponsor, or making an application on an alternative route that you may be qualified for, then you risk being detained and removed from the UK, with any visa application made within the next 10 years being unlikely to be approved.
Know your rights
Your rights as a worker are protected by UK law.
To help you understand these rights, the following resource will cover items such as:
- National Minimum Wage, deductions and payslips
- Hours of work and annual leave
- Health and Safety responsibilities
- Terms and conditions
- What to look out for
- Who to contact for advice and assistance
Available in 23 languages
Worker Rights Leaflet
Scotlands Migration Service
Scotland’s Migration Service, funded by Scottish Government, provides information and advice to employers seeking to hire or retain international workers. This includes free one-to-one appointments with a qualified immigration lawyer. Please see Scotland's Migration Service for Employers and Investors | Scotland.org. International workers can also access information and advice from the service at Move to Scotland | Scotland.org.
Note that the service operates across two separate websites. Information for employers is available at https://migrationservice.scotland.org. Information for migrants is on www.scotland.org/move-to-scotland.
Sources of Support, Advice and Guidance
You could approach a sponsor-matching agency, some of whom specialise in helping displaced workers find a new sponsor. You can search online to find one, or approach one of those listed below, but please be aware that we are not recommending or endorsing their activities, you need to be confident that what they are offering meets your own, personal requirements:
- Osborne & Allan specialise in international recruitment within the health and social care sector, supporting candidates who have been displaced and find themselves in a difficult situation to gain employment with a reputable UK employer with no costs to the candidate. They can be contacted by email at emma@osborneallan.co.uk or hello@osborneallan.co.uk, or by phone at 07841017452 and/or 01592 859999.
- Lifted offers a free (to the candidate) sponsor-matching service to workers throughout the UK. Their website can be found HERE.
There are other sources of advice and support, such as:
Trade union support
If you are a member of a trade union, then they may be able to offer support.
Many care workers are members of UNISON, who do offer advice and support to migrant workers, but if you are a member of a different union then they may also be able to provide assistance.
Most unions will also provide free legal advice to their members, so if you are a union member it would definitely be worth approaching your union representative.
Police Scotland
If you are feeling unsafe, or at risk, then you can contact Police Scotland, who have a dedicated team dealing with issues of modern slavery and human trafficking. If you feel you have been trafficked, or you are being exploited, please report this to Police Scotland on 101. In an emergency always dial 999.
You can also use the Police Scotland online Contact Form, or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Your call will be treated in confidence. You can also report via the Modern Slavery helpline on 08000 121 700 or on the Modern Slavery helpline website.
Unseen (Anti-slavery Charity)
Unseen is a UK charity with its head office in Bristol. They provide safe houses and support in the community for survivors of trafficking and modern slavery. They also run the UK Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline and work with individuals, communities, businesses, governments, other charities and statutory agencies to stamp out slavery for good.
Unseen has many resources, in many languages, that can be downloaded from their website at https://www.unseenuk.org/
Unseen has also created an app, available in Apple and Android formats, that has information in 27 languages and provides lots of great advice concerning identifying and reporting modern slavery. https://www.unseenuk.org/about-modern-slavery/download-the-app/
The UK Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline is provided by Unseen on 08000 121 700.
Other organisations
Other organisations that may be able to offer support and guidance are Citizens Advice Scotland or Scotland’s Migration Service.
Job vacancies
Care providers in Scotland will use various online recruitment sites to advertise vacancies for care workers.
One of the most popular is myjobScotland, where roles can be filtered for location and other factors to meet your needs.
Other sites to try include Indeed and Google, which can be asked to display ‘care worker jobs near me’. One could also try a direct approach to care providers, whether locally or further afield, who have a sponsor licence.
The Ethical Recruiters List is one place to look for potential employers, or one could search the UKVI register of sponsor license holders.
