UK VISA & IMMIGRATION BREACH NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE

Scope

This procedure applies in the event of a breach of section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (“the Act”) where BU may be liable for a civil penalty if we have employed someone who does not have the right to carry out the work in question.

BU has a duty to prevent illegal working in the UK by people who are subject to immigration control, including those sponsored under Tier 2, Tier 4 and Tier 5 of the previous Points Based System and Skilled Worker, Temporary Worker and Student routes of the new Points Based Immigration System. Where this is not complied with, we may face losing our UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Sponsorship License, a financial penalty (civil penalty) and in some cases, prosecution.

Responsibility

The Authorising Officer (AO) is the most senior person responsible for the recruitment of all migrant workers and ensuring that sponsorship duties are met at BU. The Authorising Officer is the Associate Director of Human Resources. The Authorising Officer is supported in their sponsor duties by the named Key Contact, who is the UKVI’s other main point of contact for BU’s Skilled and Temporary Worker Sponsor Licence. The Key Contact is the Head of Talent Acquisition and Analytics. The Authorising Officer is responsible for notifying the UKVI of any breach, although this may be delegated to the Key Contact.

All employees who engage other staff and/or offer working hours to individuals who are subject to immigration control are required to be aware of, and to follow all relevant immigration policies and procedures and in particular the Immigration Regulations (Guidance).

Failure to follow BU policy and procedure and/or legislation in respect of the prevention of illegal working as set out in the Act by any member of staff will be treated seriously and may warrant consideration under the University Disciplinary Procedure.

All BU employees are responsible for immediately reporting any actual or potential breach of the Act to the Authorising Officer or Key Contact.

Procedure – Breach Notification to the Authorising Officer

Any breach will be reported via email to the Authorising Officer without undue delay.

The Authorising Officer or nominee will undertake sufficient investigation to establish the facts and verify that a breach of section 15 of the Act has occurred.

The Authorising Officer will notify the University Executive Team via the Chief Operating Officer of the following:-

A description of the nature of the breach.

Number of individuals affected and occurrences.

Immigration status of the individual(s) affected (e.g. Skilled Worker, Student, Tier 2, Tier 4, etc.).

Likely consequences of the breach.

Any measures that have been or will be taken to address the breach, including mitigation.

Procedure – Breach Notification to the UK Visa & Immigration Service

Having established that a section 15 breach has occurred, the Authorising Officer or Key Contact will immediately report this to the UKVI.

The breach will be reported via the Employers Helpline. The Employers Helpline will provide a Unique Reference Number (URN) and issue a Civil Penalty Allegation Form. The URN and Allegation Form, will be retained within Human Resources as these are used to apply for a reduction in any civil penalty resulting from illegal working.

The Employers Helpline will forward the details of our notification to the UKVI Civil Penalties Team who if necessary will contact the Authorising Officer or Key Contact to discuss next steps.

Procedure – Breach Notification to Staff Member

Where a breach has occurred the member of staff will receive written notification of the nature of the breach including confirmation that BU has reported the circumstances to the UKVI.

A member of the Human Resources Team will discuss the situation with the staff member to ensure that immediate and appropriate measures are implemented to ensure that no further breaches occur.

Review

The Authorising Officer or nominee will conduct a review following a breach to ensure all appropriate action has been undertaken to enable the University to continue to comply with the Act and its sponsorship duties.

December 2020