The 10-working-day reporting rules, explained

Most sponsor-licence trouble does not start with wrongdoing. It starts with an HR change nobody realised was reportable, discovered months later by a compliance officer with the file open. The reporting duty is mechanical — which is why it is checkable, and why discipline (or software) beats memory.

What counts as a reportable worker change

Sponsor guidance Part 3 requires a report in the sponsorship system no later than 10 working days after the relevant change or event [^1], including when a sponsored worker:

• does not start within 28 days of the start date on their Certificate of Sponsorship;
• is absent without permission for more than 10 consecutive working days;
• stops working for you earlier than the CoS end date — resignation, dismissal, anything;
• has their salary reduced, or terms changed outside what the rules permit;
• has significant changes to the role, duties or work location — including a move to fully-remote "contractual home worker" status (routine hybrid patterns generally don't require a report) [^2].

Changes to your organisation — address, key personnel, ownership, structure — carry a separate 20-working-day deadline [^3], and ownership changes can require a fresh licence application, not just a report.

How the clock is actually counted

The count is working days: Monday to Friday, excluding England & Wales bank holidays. A deadline that crosses the Christmas cluster is shorter than it looks — and one that spans Easter is longer than a calendar-day count suggests. If your tracker thinks in calendar days it will be wrong in both directions; only "late" costs you.

Where sponsors get caught out

1. "We told someone" is not a report. Emails to the worker, their solicitor, or your own adviser do not stop the clock. Only the report in the sponsorship system counts — and you should keep the submission reference.
2. Partial reports. The resignation is reported but not the final working day; the salary change but not the effective date. Officers read reports against payroll.
3. The unescalated event. A line manager approves a move to remote working or an unpaid absence without telling whoever holds the licence. The duty sits with the sponsor regardless — your internal escalation process is the compliance control.
4. Waiting for certainty. If a worker has stopped attending, the absence rule does not pause for your investigation. Report the facts you hold, dated.

What a good report looks like

Factual, dated, complete: what changed, when it took effect, what evidence you hold. No speculation, no advocacy. Then record the reference in your own file — in a visit, "reported on the 14th, reference X" ends that line of questioning.

[^1]: Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors, Part 3 (sponsor duties and compliance), paragraph C1.15 — gov.uk.

[^2]: Part 3, paragraphs C1.23–C1.25 (remote and hybrid working).

[^3]: Part 3, paragraph C1.13 and section C2 (organisation-level reporting).

This is guidance based on published Home Office sponsor guidance, not legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, consult a solicitor or an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority.