Recent figures released by the Home Office indicate a sharp rise in enforcement action against Skilled Worker sponsors. In the first quarter of 2026, 1,712 sponsor licences were suspended and 1,545 were revoked, compared with just 339 suspensions and 276 revocations during the same period of 2025.

Sponsor licence holders must therefore proactively review their internal systems, ensure key personnel understand their sponsor duties, and address any gaps in compliance before they attract Home Office scrutiny.

We have outlined below the key pitfalls that sponsors should be aware of, together with practical guidance on how to address them.

Underpayment of salaries

Since April 2026, the Home Office has liaised directly with HMRC to identify instances of sponsored workers being paid less than the salaries stated on their Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS).

Sponsors must therefore make sure that in every pay period, sponsored workers are being paid at the correct salary levels and that any reductions in salary, for example where a worker is on maternity leave, are reported promptly to the Home Office via the Sponsorship Management System (SMS).

Roles not matching

Sponsors must ensure that a sponsored worker's role remains consistent with the details recorded on their CoS. In particular, the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) code assigned to the role must be appropriate, and the duties outlined on the CoS must accurately reflect the work the individual is carrying out in practice.

Where a sponsored worker is found to be undertaking an unauthorised role, this may constitute a mandatory ground for sponsor licence revocation. Promotions, role changes, and significant amendments to job responsibilities should therefore be reported promptly to HR and reviewed and approved before implementation. If the changes are such that the existing SOC code is no longer appropriate, a change of employment application must be submitted and approved before the worker commences their new duties. In all other cases, the sponsor should report the relevant changes directly to the Home Office via the SMS.

Failure to comply with sponsorship duties

The Home Office imposes a wide range of duties on sponsor licence holders spanning areas such as reporting, record keeping and compliance with all UK immigration and wider laws.

Sponsors must familiarise themselves with their key duties and implement internal processes to ensure accurate and timely compliance as failure to comply will result in a breach of sponsor duties, and may result in compliance action being taken by the Home Office.

To help assess your organisation's current level of compliance, try CG's Immigration Compliance Tool below or here on our immigration page for an initial assessment of your key areas of strength and potential risk.

The Immigration team at CG are experts in sponsor compliance and regularly assist businesses to identify and address areas of poor compliance. If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article in more detail or have questions about how to best manage your sponsor licence, please contact the team here: immigration@cgprofessional.co.uk