Keep right-to-work evidence clear without confusing it with sponsor compliance.
Every UK employer needs a dependable right-to-work process. A licensed sponsor has a wider set of record-keeping, monitoring and reporting duties. Separate those two jobs, give each deadline an owner and keep the evidence close to the employment record.
- Universal and sponsor-only duties separated
- Official Home Office sources
- No compliance or inspection guarantee
What is the difference between a right-to-work check and sponsor duties?
A right-to-work check is an employer process. Before employment begins, use the prescribed route for the person's status, keep dated evidence and repeat the check where permission is time-limited.
Sponsor duties apply only when an organisation holds a sponsor licence. They add Appendix D records, worker and organisation reporting, monitoring and co-operation with Home Office checks. A right-to-work record can sit inside the sponsor file, but it does not prove the wider sponsor duties have been met.
This is practical general information, not legal advice. Use the current linked official guidance for the facts in front of you.
Run one prescribed route, then keep the receipt.
Start with the current employer's guide, not an old document list. The route may be a Home Office online check, an eligible digital identity check, a manual check or the Employer Checking Service. The employer must still connect the result to the person, confirm any restrictions allow the job and record the check date.
Retain the required output securely. A digital service does not remove the employer's own steps, and time-limited permission needs a follow-up before it ends.
- 01
Use the current Home Office route for the evidence.
- 02
Apply the process consistently to recruits.
- 03
Check identity, permission, role and restrictions.
- 04
Record the date and retain the required output.
- 05
Schedule any time-limited follow-up.
A sponsor licence adds a live control system, not just a larger folder.
Appendix D is the sponsor-file starting point. Depending on the route, it covers right-to-work and date-of-entry evidence, recruitment, role, qualifications, pay, contact history and absences. Its general retention rule differs from the right-to-work rule, so one deletion date is unsafe.
Records must connect to events. Part 3 normally gives 10 working days for specified worker changes and 20 for specified organisation changes. The exact event and route decide what to report, so the live guidance and SMS remain the authority.
- Contact details and absence records
- Right-to-work and date-of-entry evidence
- Role, recruitment, qualification and pay evidence
- Certificate of Sponsorship facts compared with reality
- Worker and organisation changes routed to the SMS
Prepare to explain the process, not to perform a perfect folder on demand.
Part 3 says checks can be on-site or digital, announced or unannounced, and may include interviews, documents and systems. Useful preparation is ordinary discipline: current records, named owners and a route from an employment change to a reporting decision.
Software can surface evidence and dates, but it cannot validate a check or decide a nuanced event. Periodically sample one worker's evidence, job, pay, absences and changes; confirm who can make any SMS report; and take qualified advice where needed.
HollyHR keeps the employment evidence trail; the sponsor duty stays with you.
HollyHR keeps private starter evidence, an authorised employer decision, per-person documents, expiry-dated requirements and document-compliance export records. It does not validate checks, compare salary with a Certificate of Sponsorship, decide or calculate reportable events, submit through the SMS, provide licence services, represent you or give immigration advice. No third-party HR system certifies that those duties have been met.
HollyHR can help with
- Private evidence and an authorised employer-decision record
- Per-person documents and expiry-dated compliance requirements
- Organisation export including document-compliance records
Keep outside the claim
- Right-to-work validation or share-code checking
- Sponsor-event decisions, deadlines or SMS reporting
- Immigration advice, licence services or inspection representation
Check the rule where it is maintained.
These sources were reviewed on 26 August 2026. Paul Gould is the HollyHR founder-operator accountable for maintaining this guide. Follow the official page for the current rule, conditions and exceptions rather than relying on an old quotation.
- Home Office: right-to-work checks for employersThe maintained check routes, evidence steps, follow-up checks and retention rule.
- Home Office: sponsor duties and compliance, Part 3Reporting duties, compliance checks, sanctions and the wider sponsor operating rules.
- Home Office: Appendix D record-keeping dutiesThe current document set, format and sponsor-record retention rules.
- Home Office: sponsor compliance visit guidanceCaseworker guidance on the purpose and conduct of sponsor compliance visits.
Questions behind the checklist.
Short answers for scanning; the practical detail and source links stay above.
Does every UK employer need a sponsor licence?
No. Every employer needs an appropriate right-to-work process. The wider sponsor duties apply to licensed sponsors and covered sponsored workers.
How long should right-to-work and sponsor records be kept?
The employer guide generally requires check evidence for employment plus two years. Appendix D generally keeps sponsor documents throughout sponsorship until the earlier of one year afterwards or compliance-officer approval. Other purposes may require longer.
Can a Home Office sponsor compliance check be unannounced?
Yes. Part 3 says a visit or interview can be announced or unannounced, and checks can be digital. Records, systems, workers and recruitment staff may be examined.
Keep the rule, owner and people record in one calm place.
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