Practical advice for employers
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5-year skilled worker visas to cost £12K
Sourcing employees from overseas is already expensive and the recently announced 15 – 20% price increases will see a typical 5-year skilled worker visa cost close to £12,000, an expense that can significantly impact the bottom line.
Strategies to protect investment in UK visas
There are, however, various strategies to protect the investment and potentially recover some costs in the not terribly uncommon event of an employee choosing to move on immediately after their visa ends. This article aims to explore some practical suggestions that can be integrated into employment contracts for sponsored workers.
Communication is key
Firstly, it’s crucial to recognise the importance of clear, transparent communication with prospective employees. Employers should openly discuss the rising visa costs and the potential repercussions for both parties, ideally before a sponsored worker joins. This conversation provides an opportunity to raise the employee’s awareness of the high cost of sponsorship, and of the terms designed to protect that investment.
Deduction and repayment clauses
Employers may build deduction and repayment clauses into the offers and employment contracts of sponsored workers. This can help recover some of the visa costs if the employee leaves their job. These repayment clauses, however, need to be fair, reasonable, and agreed upon by both parties.
A repayment clause could be a time-bound repayment agreement. Such an agreement could state that if the employee leaves during or within a year after their visa expires, they would be obliged to pay back 75% of the visa costs. This percentage could gradually decrease over time, dropping to 25% over three years, for example. This approach provides some protection to the employer, whilst also ensuring the terms aren’t overly punitive for the employee (which would make the clause unenforceable).
Make sure your employee understands the terms!
The key with these, and other important contractual terms, is to draw the employee’s attention to them at the outset. Many employees won’t read the contract, and may not even know the terms exist. They should be remined of key employment terms shortly after joining – the induction is a good opportunity. It’s good practice too to put repayment terms into a separate agreement, to be signed by the new employee.
Can you ask existing employees (who don’t have repayment clauses) to sign up to new terms?
If you already have employees working under a visa, but who don’t have these terms in their existing contract, it is possible to agree new terms, but you will need to offer some consideration, usually an additional payment, in return for the employee’s new contractual commitments.
Integrate new employees well
Contractual clauses to recover some of the outlay are all very well, but we should also invest in supporting employees’ integration into the company and in this context, the UK more broadly. This may mean providing additional support and resources to help with language, culture, or simply adjusting to a new working environment.
By investing in employees’ success and satisfaction, employers can increase retention rates and protect their visa expenditure.
HR support from JCHR
JCHR’s HR partner myHRdept can draft employment contracts and contractual terms & provide advice and guidance on key HR processes , like induction & onboarding.
Our retained payroll and HR packages contain HR support time, which can be used to obtain advice on the types of contractual amendments we talk about here. Most packages also contain some site time for HR audits, or to help manage an HR process.
If you’re thinking of outsourcing your HR, payroll or employment law needs, why not contact JCHR? Call us on 01635 553 299, email us at info@jCHR.uk, or contact us via our website and we’ll call you back.
