When offering sponsor licence advice to clients there is a danger that the client assumes we'll remind them of their obligations post grant and seek to blame us if they miss any deadline. While it is obvious that this is a client duty and not a solicitor duty, some clients may still chance their arm. You should prevent them from doing so by adding this rider to the scope section of your Engagement Letter.
Our retainer is limited to advising upon and, where instructed, preparing and submitting the immigration application(s) which are the subject of this engagement. For each application, once it has been determined and we have notified you of the outcome, our retainer in relation to that application will come to an end unless otherwise agreed in writing. We have agreed that you will monitor and manage all future immigration-related dates, deadlines and compliance obligations for each application, after we have given you full details of the outcome. There are important deadlines and, as you know, missing them can mean becoming non-compliant for UKVI licence purposes, leading to the possible suspension or even revocation of your Skilled Worker sponsor licence or, in the case of a missed visa expiry date, your migrant worker becoming an overstayer, without the right to work. You are welcome to write to us with a request for guidance for post grant assistance. As that is currently out of scope, we will need in each case to agree to extend the scope to include that help. However, once that is done, we'd then set out how we can help and proceed to do so.
We are also happy in principle also to undertake post result applications and appeals for you. Those too will count as a widening of our scope and will need to be agreed by an exchange of emails in each case. Do bear in mind that some applications can take time, so we recommend that you contact us without delay in relation to any appeals as there can be strict time limits. As regards renewals and other applications, we recommend that you contact us at least six months before any expiry or other action date.
Also, when working with licence sponsors, and where you are to have dealings also with the incoming worker, there is a risk that the incoming working may believe that you are their lawyer too. You don't want to create a duty of care to the incoming worker, it could cause you a conflict of interest and create an undocumented solicitor/client engagement. To manage this issue, you should note in the Engagement Letter that you will not be advising the incoming worker and you should let the incoming worker know that you are acting only for the sponsor and that they may wish to retain their own advisers. Here is a draft.
Dear xx
Sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route
We act for XX (our client'), in relation to immigration and sponsor licence matters.
We understand that you are employed, or will be employed, by our client and that our client wishes to sponsor you under the Skilled Worker route. We are writing to explain our role in this process.
As part of our instructions, we will be advising our client in relation to its sponsorship of you. Our client has asked us to review your immigration application to help ensure that it is complete and consistent with the information provided by our client regarding its sponsorship of you.
Although this may be helpful to you, it is important for us to highlight the following:
If you require legal advice about your own position, immigration status, or the application process, we recommend that you obtain independent legal advice.
You can find general information about the Skilled Worker route at: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.
The primary purpose of our use of your personal data is to assist our client with the sponsorship process, although both we and our client may use the information for other legitimate purposes connected with the employment relationship and sponsor compliance obligations.
We will send you a consent form that you can sign electronically.
If you require any further information, please contact [name].