Managing international staff
As a manager of international staff, what are my responsibilities in relation to visa expiration and renewal?
- Be aware of the immigration status of your non-UK staff; and
- Ensure that they make their applications in a timely fashion, seeking advice from the HR Recruitment Team as appropriate.
Skilled Worker or Temporary Worker (T5) visa holder
I line manage a Skilled Worker or Temporary Worker (T5) visa holder individual. What are my responsibilities?
UKVI must be notified of a range of activities in relation to the sponsored worker. When the individual is appointed, you will receive an email from the HR Recruitment Team outlining your obligations. In summary, you need to notify the HR Recruitment Team immediately if:
- the worker does not attend work on their first day of employment;
- they take unauthorised absence for 10 consecutive days;
- they are on long-term sick for one month or more;
- they request unpaid leave for more than one month;
- they request time off for maternity, paternity, adoption or parental leave;
- they request time off for assisting with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis overseas, providing you agreed to the absence(s) for that purpose
- they take part in strike action as part of a legally organised industrial action*;
- there are proposed significant changes to the contract of employment, including salary, contractual hours and/or location of the employment;
- their contract of employment is terminated or the worker resigns earlier than anticipated; and/ or
- there is information suggesting they are breaching the conditions of their leave to remain.
*The government confirmed in July 2018 that Tier 2 visa holders will not be penalised for some absences from paid work in the UK, which now include engaging in legal strike action. These changes mean that a Tier 2 visa holder's leave to remain will not be affected if such absences cause their salary to fall below the required threshold.
The HR Recruitment Team will report the required information to UKVI. If you are unsure whether UKVI need to be notified of an activity, contact the HR recruitment team.
Student visa holder
I line manage a Student visa holder. What are my responsibilities?
If you are employing an international student then you are responsible for checking whether they have any other contracts of employment at all with the University, perhaps in a different Directorate or Faculty. This is because no more than 20 hours per week can be worked by any international student during semester time (10 if the course of studies is below foundation level) and this includes any combination of hourly-paid contract. You should also gain documentation of the study and vacation times of the non-UK student and forward these to HR along with other documentation as required on the Eligibility cover sheet.
- You must not knowingly offer work which would result in the student being in breach of their visa restrictions. Students are under an obligation to ensure they are not in breach but this responsibility is shared with the line manager. Any breach could result in a student disciplinary and potentially affect the students ongoing studies. A breach could also potentially result in disciplinary action being taken against the line manager;
- You must record and monitor weekly working hours; and
- You must report any potential breaches of visa restrictions immediately to the HR Recruitment Team.
Please note that when a line manager signs off and authorises a claim form for an hourly-paid Student visa holder employee, they are vouching for the complete accuracy and appropriateness of that claim.