What employers are — and are not — allowed to do
Many migrant workers are told things by employers that are simply not true. Here is a clear guide to what the law actually says.
✓ Employers CAN
- Change your hours within reason if your contract allows it
- Temporarily reduce hours due to genuine business need (with notice)
- Require you to do training as part of your role
- Make you redundant if there is a genuine business reason
- Set reasonable workplace rules and performance standards
✗ Employers CANNOT
- Charge you recruitment fees or pass sponsorship/immigration costs onto you (including the Certificate of Sponsorship, Immigration Skills Charge, sponsor licence fees or similar), whether directly, through deductions, or repayment
- Make you pay for your own DBS check or mandatory training
- Withhold your passport, BRP, or identity documents
- Threaten to report you to immigration as a form of control
- Pay you below the minimum wage for your visa category
- Change your job role or salary so it no longer meets visa requirements or place you in a role that does not match your Certificate of Sponsorship, without telling the Home Office
- Pay you informally (e.g., cash-in-hand) without proper payslips or records
- Penalise or dismiss you for raising concerns, including health and safety issues or reporting exploitation (whistleblowing)
It is illegal to charge workers recruitment fees or the cost of sponsorship. This includes the Certificate of Sponsorship fee, the Immigration Skills Charge, and the sponsor licence fee — your employer must cover all of these. Repayment clauses in your contract are also prohibited. If an employer asks you to pay anything to secure your visa or job, this is a serious warning sign — report it as fraud here. You can also contact the Fair Work Agency on Phone: 0345 161 6000 or Email: contact@fairworkagency.gov.uk.
For the full rules on what employers can and cannot charge, see the Home Office Sponsor Guidance Part 3 (PDF) ↗, Annex C2.
Hours reduced or role changed
This has both employment law and visa implications.
- Check your contract — can your employer legally change your hours or role?
- If your salary drops below the Skilled Worker minimum for your occupation code, your visa may be at risk — contact an immigration adviser immediately.
- Your employer is legally required to tell the Home Office of significant changes to your role or salary. If they have not, they are in breach of their sponsor duties.
- If the change was imposed without your agreement, raise a formal grievance (see the Grievance Letter section below).
- If you are forced to accept changes you did not agree to, this may be constructive dismissal — see the Unfair Dismissal section for more information.
Charging fees or deducting money illegally
This is illegal under UK law and may constitute labour exploitation. Since December 2024 (Skilled Worker) and April 2025 (most other routes), the ban explicitly covers the Certificate of Sponsorship fee, the Immigration Skills Charge, the sponsor licence fee, and any associated administrative costs.
- Recruitment fees charged to workers are banned under the Employment Agencies Act and the Modern Slavery Act. Repayment clauses in your contract are also prohibited — they may be unenforceable.
- Keep records of any deductions — payslips, bank statements, messages, your original contract.
- Report to the Fair Work Agency helpline: 0800 917 2368 (free).
- You may be able to claim the deducted money back through an Employment Tribunal.
- For the full rules, see Home Office Sponsor Guidance Part 3 (PDF) ↗, Annex C2(cc) and C2(dd).
Documents being withheld
Withholding identity documents is a recognised indicator of modern slavery and labour exploitation.
- Your passport and BRP belong to you. No employer has the right to hold them.
- Demand their return in writing (by email) immediately and keep a copy.
- If they refuse, contact the police or the Fair Work Agency: 0345 161 6000 (free) — this may be a criminal matter.
- You can also contact Migrant Help: 0808 8010 503 (free, 24 hours).
- Do not delay — this is serious and you need specialist support.
Threatened with immigration or deportation
Using the threat of immigration enforcement to control a worker is a form of coercion and may be a criminal offence.
- Your employer cannot report you to the Home Office as a form of punishment or control — this is an abuse of the sponsorship system.
- Write down exactly what was said, when, and who was present.
- Contact the Fair Work Agency immediately: 0345 161 6000.
- You may have whistleblower protection — see the Reporting & Visa section below.
- Contact a regulated immigration adviser to understand your actual visa position — do not rely on your employer's version of events.
Your employer is being taken over or sold
When a business changes hands, your job may be protected under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment). Sorting out your sponsorship in this situation is your employer's legal responsibility — not yours.
- Under TUPE, your job, pay, and terms should transfer to the new employer automatically.
- The new employer must report the transfer to the Home Office and confirm they accept sponsorship responsibility for you — they have 20 working days from the date of the transfer to do this.
- You do not need to apply for a new visa, provided your duties remain the same and the new employer has a valid sponsor licence.
- If your employer is telling you that you must sort out your visa yourself — this is incorrect. The legal obligation sits with the employer, not with you.
- If the new employer does not act within 20 working days, your permission may be at risk. Monitor progress and get advice early.
- For the full rules, see Home Office Sponsor Guidance Part 3 (PDF) ↗, section C4.
For a fuller explanation of TUPE and what to do if things go wrong, see the Switching Sponsor section, or the Job Ending section for what happens if the transfer is not handled correctly.