(C): Unsplash
UK employers have been given a clear message with a landmark 2026 Employment Tribunal decision that it is not only a moral failure to not offer a job to a migrant worker, but also a legal one. You have rights if your UK Visa Sponsor is failing to provide you with adequate hours or any work whatsoever, and you can take action.
Shabin Shaji, an Indian national, came to the UK to be a care worker under the Skilled Worker Visa scheme from Kerala to Stafford, England. He had to pay £17,000 to recruitment agents, purchase a car and undertake online training, but for a full year, he did not get any shifts from his sponsor, Swan Care Solutions Ltd.
He asked for jobs several times but was told that it would be his “turn”. He meanwhile lived on alms food and tap water. He sought assistance from the employment charity Work Rights Centre, brought his claim to an Employment Tribunal and secured almost £30,000 in compensation for not being paid, as well as unpaid wages and holiday pay. It was then found that Swan Care Solutions’ sponsor licence had been withdrawn.
According to UK Immigration rules, your UK Visa Sponsor is legally bound to provide you with the salary mentioned in your Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). Working for a sponsored worker on a zero-hours contract is an unauthorised deduction of wages, unless the CoS states that this is the case. In the Shaji decision, Employment Judge Kate Edmonds confirmed just that.
This doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do. Here are some things you can do.
Build evidence file prior to taking action:
Whether you are looking for a new sponsor, or filing a tribunal claim, this documentation is crucial.
In order to be able to change employers on a Skilled Worker Visa, the employer must have a valid Home Office sponsor licence. They will need to provide you with a new Certificate of Sponsorship, which will have to conform to the skill level (RQF Level 6 or higher) and salary requirements (also as set by the Home Office).
Another change of sponsor is not an easy internal transfer – it’s a completely new visa application. Submit it prior to the expiration of your visa or within 60 days of the sponsor reporting a reduction in hours (curtailment period) if they have already notified you of a decrease in hours. Until the new employer’s visa permission is formally granted, you are not allowed to work for them.
You may be entitled to back payments of wages and compensation if your sponsor denied you work. If you wish to do so, contact ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) to begin early conciliation and submit a claim through the Employment Tribunal for breach of contract or for unpaid wages.
The Shaji case has sparked interest in a change to the Skilled Worker Visa to facilitate a greater ease and speed of visa sponsorship change in the UK. The current system leaves workers in the hands of “exploitative employers,” say advocacy groups. If there is no reform in sight, what can you do but educate yourself about the law?
Don’t hesitate to seek legal advice if your UK visa sponsor lets you down; document everything and find a legit sponsor.
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