As the government tightens its grip on illegal working, understanding the duties and liabilities of the person responsible for the sponsor licence is increasingly important, says Kasia Kingsmill.
With sponsor licence revocations at a record high, it is crucial for organisations to ensure they are acting compliantly when hiring skilled workers from overseas. Understanding whose responsibility it is to implement all necessary measures to safeguard the organisation from such a predicament is paramount.
Every sponsor licence application requires the appointment of key personnel to manage the licence and take accountability. Of these, the authorising officer is the most senior and ultimately accountable for the licence. It is a position with significant personal responsibility and, with Home Office scrutiny on the rise, there are potentially serious consequences if sponsor licences are not handled correctly.
Since the authorising officer must be the most senior person responsible for recruiting sponsored workers – and immigration compliance typically falls within HR’s remit – the role is usually taken on by a senior HR professional.
What should HR professionals know before accepting the appointment?
The authorising officer must be a senior and competent person within the organisation. This is most commonly a head of mobility or HR director, but in some businesses this may be the head of legal, a managing director or another senior leader. They must also be based in the UK and not have any disqualifying factors, such as unspent criminal convictions or past immigration compliance breaches.
It must be someone with genuine standing inside the business – a paid member of staff or an office holder. This therefore excludes external consultants, except where the business has gone into administration, in which case an insolvency practitioner may step into the role.
The authorising officer’s key responsibilities
The authorising officer carries overall responsibility for the company’s compliance with its sponsor duties. This includes ensuring right to work checks and record-keeping processes are robust; overseeing appropriate and timely reporting to the Home Office; appointing and monitoring other key roles; and ensuring that the organisation has systems in place to maintain day-to-day compliance.
Routine immigration tasks, such as monitoring immigration status and record keeping, can be delegated internally. The authorising officer retains ultimate responsibility for compliance.
The Home Office increasingly expects authorising officers to take a more active role in sponsor licence compliance audits. They must also demonstrate awareness of where compliance processes are documented; clarity about who in the business is responsible for implementing them; and a sound understanding of the systems used to monitor and maintain compliance. In short, the authorising officer must show active oversight, and not simply act as a figurehead.
Reporting changes in personal circumstances
One aspect that is often overlooked is the authorising officer’s duty to report any changes in their personal details, including name, address and contact information. Certain changes in personal circumstances, such as bankruptcy or director disqualification, can make an individual ineligible to act as an authorising officer. If these changes are not reported and addressed, the sponsor licence itself may be at risk.
Crucially, when an authorising officer leaves, they should ensure that the responsibilities are formally transferred to their successor. A sponsor licence must always have an eligible authorising officer in place and failure to appoint a new one could result in licence revocation. For the individual, remaining named on a licence they no longer represent could negatively affect their ability to be approved as key personnel in the future and could cause reputational damage.
Since 31 December 2024, businesses must maintain at least one level one user who is both an employee, director or partner of the organisation and a settled worker. Although the authorising officer does not need to hold level one user access, it is generally good practice for them to do so, as this provides visibility over the sponsorship management system and supports effective oversight of compliance.
What to do when the Home Office comes knocking?
Not all Home Office audits are announced in advance, so the authorising officer should be prepared for a visit at any time. Inspectors will expect them to know where processes are documented, who is responsible for implementation and how compliance is monitored across the organisation.
Any documents requested by Home Office officers that cannot be produced during the visit must be provided shortly afterwards. Delays in doing so are often frowned upon and may lead the Home Office to question the company’s organisation and overall compliance readiness. It is therefore best practice to ensure that all relevant documentation is kept up to date and easily accessible.
Personal liability and risks
Although civil penalties are imposed on the organisation, the authorising officer can face direct consequences if compliance fails. This could include heightened scrutiny in future applications or reputational damage. Most seriously, if the authorising officer knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the organisation is employing someone illegally, they could face up to five years’ imprisonment and an unlimited fine. This is in addition to civil penalties against the business. This is why the role should never be viewed as ceremonial – it carries real consequences if things go wrong.
For many HR leaders, taking on the authorising officer role may feel like a natural extension of their wider responsibilities for workforce management. However, it is important to understand all the risks and responsibilities before accepting the appointment.
The Home Office expects authorising officers not only to delegate effectively, but also to demonstrate active oversight and understanding. For HR professionals, this means treating the appointment as a serious responsibility and ensuring that the systems, people and processes around them are robust enough to support ongoing compliance.
Kasia Kingsmill is a partner and head of immigration at Brecher.
This article was first published in People Management Magazine
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