Recruiting Overseas Nationals In The Hospitality Sector

By Jane Biddlecombe , employment law exper t, Paris Smith solicitor s (www.parissmith.co.uk)

work is the Skilled Worker visa

If your business is considering recruiting from overseas, you should take the following steps:

1. IS THE JOB ROLE ELIGIBLE?

The first step to take is to establish whether the role you ’ re recruiting for is eligible for a Skilled Worker visa The job role that the overseas national is going to be doing in the UK must be within one of the eligible job classification codes, known as “SOC” codes This includes hotel managers; restaurant and café managers; publicans and licensees; conference and event organisers; chefs; kitchen and bar managers as well as staff involved in other areas of the business such as HR, finance , marketing and IT

2. WHAT SALARY DO YOU NEED TO PAY?

Once the correct SOC code for the role has been identified it’s necessar y to establish the minimum salar y that needs to be paid for the role

Once you ’ ve established that the role you ’ re recruiting for is eligible to be sponsored under a Skilled Worker visa, you will need to apply for a sponsor licence which normally takes eight weeks This is an online application process whereby the employing company has to prove it is a genuine business in the UK by producing relevant suppor ting documents The Home Office is ver y specific about the documents that must be sent and will reject applications if the rules aren’t followed The application needs to be suppor ted by a covering letter and again the Home Office sets out what this must include , for example , a hierarchy char t for the business and details of the roles you intend to sponsor It s vital to get the sponsor licence application right because if the application is refused, then there is no right to appeal You will be prohibited from making a fur ther application for a period of six months by which time the recruit you wish to secure will have probably obtained an alternative role elsewhere

4 Issuing A Certificate Of Sponsorship

In a time of great recruitment challenges within the hospitality sector, it can be hard for businesses to secure the talent they need for their business to sur vive and succeed One option for hospitality businesses that are struggling to recruit from within the UK is to look to recruiting internationally

There are some routes which allow overseas nationals to come to work in the UK without a licensed sponsor For example , the Graduate visa allows international students who have completed an eligible UK degree to stay in the UK to work for two years after they have completed their degree The Youth Mobility Scheme visa allows young people aged between 18 and 30 years old from par ticipating countries (including Australia Canada Hong Kong New Zealand Japan and India) to come to live and work in the UK for up to two years

However, the main route for overseas nationals to come to the UK to

The minimum salar y level for a Skilled Worker visa is £25,600 a year However, each SOC code has a “going rate” of salar y which must be paid if this is higher than £25,600

Often the going rate for hospitality roles is less than the minimum salar y level for a Skilled Worker visa For example the going rate for a Restaurant Manager is £21,000 a year but they would still need to be paid the minimum of £25,600 a year if they were employed on a Skilled Worker visa However, if hospitality roles are put on the Shor tage Occupation List (which it’s understood the government is considering) then the minimum salar y is reduced to 80% The minimum salar y requirement can also be reduced to 70% for “ new entrants” (for example , if they are under 26 years old or switching from a student visa in the UK)

3. BECOMING A SPONSOR

Once the business has a sponsor licence you can apply for and assign a Cer tificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to the potential new employee The CoS is actually a reference number that the individual puts on their online Skilled Worker visa application to prove they have an eligible job offer from a UK employer

5. SKILLED WORKER VISA APPLICATION

The last step is for the potential employee to make their online Skilled Worker visa application and once this has been granted, they can star t working for you

Sponsorship can seem like a daunting process but, with the right advice and guidance your hospitality business can secure a sponsor licence to enable you to employ overseas nationals and deal with any recruitment challenges you currently face