The UK's immigration laws require employers to be able to demonstrate how they hired their sponsored workers. Employers were required to perform official resident labor market testing prior to 2020 for the majority of work visa routes before they could hire migrant workers. Although labor tests are no longer necessary for employer-sponsored work visas in 2025, firms must still be able to provide a legitimate employment justification.

The UK skilled worker visa highlights the position's vacancy and credibility. Therefore, the employer/HR department must still keep documentation of any recruitment activities you have conducted (Evidence of recruitment for sponsored workers) if you, as an employer, need to hire more people or apply for visas for employees who are already employed after receiving a sponsor license. The employer or HR department must be able to explain how the person was hired at that time if the post has never been advertised. To ascertain if the post is a genuinely reasonable open position, the Immigration Bureau will consider this information as supporting documentation.

Consequences of missing early recruitment process

The employer is said to have failed to perform his sponsor duties if he does not have recruitment records. Depending on the situation, he may be subject to the following penalties

• Reduce the CoS quota (the number of new employees that can be sponsored) or cancel it to zero (no new CoS sponsored employees can be issued);
• Reduce the license level, such as downgrading the A-level license to B-level (B-level license cannot sponsor new employees, and previously sponsored employees are not affected);
• Suspend the license during the investigation by the Immigration Bureau;
• Revoke the work permit (Sponsor Licence);
• Report to the police or local authorities.

According to the UK Immigration Department, how should companies prepare recruitment records?

a. If you advertise this position, you must maintain all of the following:

i.Details of any advertisements you post, including: screenshots, printouts or copies of the advertisement, or records of the text of the advertisement; information about where the job advertisement was posted (such as the website address) and when it was posted

Note: There is no minimum number of ads you must run, nor is there a set method or channel for running ads. If you run multiple ads, it is recommended that you keep all evidence of your running ads.

ii.Records of the number of people who applied for the position, and the number of people who progressed to an interview or other stage of the recruitment process.

iii.Provide at least one additional piece of evidence or information to demonstrate the process you used to identify the most suitable candidate (see notes below) – examples include, but are not limited to:

• Copies or summaries of the interviewer’s notes for the successful candidate
• A list of common interview questions that interviewers ask all candidates as part of the selection process
• A brief explanation of why the successful candidate was chosen and why other candidates were rejected
• Information about any ratings or scoring process you used to determine the successful candidate Any other relevant information or evidence

Note: You do not need to retain the personal data of other unsuccessful interviewees' application forms, resumes, and interview notes.

b. If you have not advertised the position, you must be able to explain (and provide evidence where practicable) if asked, how you have determined that the employee is suitable for the position – examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

i. You found the employee through a recruiting tour at UK colleges/universities - you should keep evidence of this recruiting tour

ii. Already working for you lawfully through another immigration route and you have demonstrated their suitability for the position through their previous performance

iii.The employee submitted an application to you for the job opportunity outside of a formal job advertisement (a 'speculative' application) and you are satisfied (e.g. through interviews and/or other references) that they have the skills and experience required to do the job.

The above sharing is about how employers conduct recruitment activities before issuing CoS for overseas employees. If you have more needs regarding the application of UK work permit license and work visa, please feel free to consult UK Starjet Immigration. Starjet has an experienced team of immigration lawyers and has offices in Birmingham, Manchester and China. We will wholeheartedly provide you with professional guidance and help you realize your UK immigration journey.