Home Office U-turns on requirement to report hybrid working patterns

On 31 March, the Home Office updated its guidance requiring sponsors to report hybrid working patterns for sponsored workers.

A hybrid working pattern is defined by Home Office guidance as where a worker will work remotely on a regular and planned basis from an address that is not a client site or an address listed on the sponsor’s licence, for example their home.

As of 10 May 2023, however, the Home Office has communicated that it will no longer require such reports and recognises that hybrid working is the new norm. The guidance requiring that hybrid working patterns are reported is currently in the process of being removed. Provided sponsors maintain records on site, the Home Office will be satisfied should it conduct a compliance visit.

In all likelihood this swift change of heart is due to a resultant flood of submissions from sponsors reporting on their sponsored workers – after all, since the pandemic most businesses now employ a hybrid working model.

Sponsors will be glad for this reversal as many would have been required to report on all of their sponsored workers, an especially daunting task for large sponsors who may have hundreds of workers to report on.

Should you require advice on what sponsor duties may apply to your business, such as reporting and record keeping, please contact one of our team.