New Sponsor Duties including requirement to inform sponsored workers of their employment rights and expanded right to work checks

Significant updates to the UK’s sponsor duties came into force in March and April 2026. They add to the Home Office’s expectations in terms of what sponsors need to do to comply with their sponsor duties. This blog sets out the new requirements which apply to employers who have a sponsor licence.

The key changes are:

1. Sponsors must read and keep up to date with all changes to the sponsor guidance. This duty also applies to any employers who apply to become a sponsor.
2. Sponsors must ensure they are providing workers with sufficient information related to their employment law rights.
3. The “genuine vacancy test” is now redefined as the “eligible role” requirement with updated criteria.
4. Sponsors must perform a right to work check for every worker they wish to engage directly.
5. Minimum salary thresholds will be monitored by pay periods and stricter penalties have been introduced for non-compliance.

So what does this all mean for employers?

Duty to stay informed: sponsors must actively keep up with guidance

The updated sponsor guidance introduces a new explicit requirement that sponsors must read, understand and stay up to date with all relevant parts of the sponsor guidance.

This includes:

• The three main parts of the guidance;
• All appendices;
• The glossary; and
• Any route‑specific guidance relevant to the licence.

The Home Office has always expected sponsors to follow the rules and it was necessary to understand what was expected in terms of the sponsor duties. However, this wording raises the bar in terms of having to read all of the guidance and being aware of any updates.

The Home Office guidance does not explicitly state who within the sponsor organisation, must read the guidance. We expect that if the Authorising Officer has read it (and keeps up to date with it), this ought to be sufficient to discharge this duty. It is also sensible that others involved in the sponsorship process are up to date with sponsor duties and any changes through receiving training and updates. Some employers may also ask Level 1 Users to read the guidance. There is an obligation to keep up to date with any changes throughout the year. We would also recommend that on an annual basis, there is an internal checking system implemented to check that any updates have not been missed.

Employers should therefore set up a process to ensure that that those involved in the sponsorship process keep up to date with any changes to the sponsor guidance. This might include, for example, registering for Home Office email updates (regular notifications are issued when the guidance is updated), reading these changes, keeping a record of internal training/updates on the changes and having evidence of who has read the guidance on behalf of the sponsor.

New expectations around worker employment rights and welfare

Compliance with UK employment laws has been a sponsor duty for some time. However, the updated guidance goes further, emphasising that sponsors must not only comply with UK employment law but also actively promote the welfare of the workers they sponsor by ensuring they understand their employment rights. Part 1 of the sponsor guidance lists the areas that workers should understand their rights in relation to. These include the National Minimum Wage, working time rules, pension auto-enrolment, statutory leave entitlements, health and safety, and how to raise grievances for example.

There is a requirement for the sponsor to have HR systems in place which demonstrate that this information is provided to employees or workers who are sponsored. This information must be retained in accordance with Appendix D requirements (for the duration of the employment and for 2 years after it in most cases).

We would recommend that sponsors issue a UK employment law factsheet to sponsored workers and employees and keep a record of it being issued. This will need to be kept up to date and re-issued from time to time, with a record of those updates retained.

If you need assistance in complying with this new duty, please get in touch.

Eligible role test

A new ‘eligible role’ test has been introduced and has replaced the previous genuine vacancy requirement. The genuine vacancy test involved the sponsor being able to demonstrate that the role was a genuine role in the UK and that the role (or skills required for it) had not been exaggerated in order for a visa to be granted, for example. This test has been replaced with the new ‘eligible role’ test.

To be considered an ‘eligible’ role it must:

1. Exist, or can be reasonably anticipated to exist, at the point you assign the relevant certificate of sponsorship to the worker.
2. Require the worker to perform the specific duties and responsibilities set out in the certificate of sponsorship, which includes the number of hours per week.
3. Meet all requirements of the route the worker is sponsored on, including in particular the requisite skill level and salary.
4. Be an appropriate role to the business or organisation’s business model, plan or scale.

The Home Office must be satisfied that these requirements, which can be found in the new glossary to the guidance, will be met not only on commencement of the role but throughout its duration. If a sponsor breaches the eligible role test this would be a material breach of the sponsor duties and can result in suspension or revocation of their licence.

Expanded right to work check responsibilities

The updates to part 2 of the guidance reinforce and expand on the sponsor’s duty to check that any worker who they wish to sponsor, or any worker whom they wish to otherwise employ, or directly engage through another arrangement, has the correct permission to work in the UK before they commence work. Such checks have to be carried out whether or not the worker is sponsored by the licence holder. The test for when a right to work check must be carried out is whether the worker can be considered as ‘directly engaged’ by the sponsor, although this term is undefined.

At the moment, employers who do not have a sponsor licence, do not have to carry out right to work checks on those who are not engaged under a contract of employment or apprenticeship but the rules on this will change later in 2026 when the civil penalty regime will be expanded. Read our earlier blog for details.

In light of this change, employers may need to review onboarding processes to ensure right to work checks are consistently carried out and documented for such workers. Although a sponsor may not be liable for a civil penalty for such individuals at the moment, failure to do right to work checks on those workers directly engaged by the sponsor will be a breach of sponsorship duties. Please contact us for advice on the specific requirements.

Compliance with salary requirements

Part 2 has been amended to tighten up the compliance measures in relation to workers’ salaries at section 4. The Home Office will now refuse any Certificate of Sponsorship where they fail to be satisfied that the worker will be paid the appropriate salary for the role. They will also be making regular checks with HMRC to ensure sponsors are paying their sponsored workers the salary specified in every pay period. Where a sponsor is found to be paying a worker less than their salary in any pay period, the certificate will be cancelled, and the sponsor will be subject to compliance action including revocation of their sponsor licence. Therefore, the minimum salary assessment is no longer made annually but now applies to pay periods. Ensuring that these salary requirements are being met on a rolling basis is now critical.

Key takeaways

These updates reflect a broader trend: the Home Office expects sponsors to take a more structured, proactive, and well‑documented approach to compliance. Employers should review their HR systems, onboarding processes and record keeping to ensure they can meet these new requirements. If you require any assistance ensuring your practices and policies are compliant with the new guidance, please get in touch.

This blog aims to provide an overview of the recent updates, for full details please consult the full guidance issued by the Home Office here: Sponsorship: guidance for employers and educators - GOV.UK.