As of December 1st, 2020 and a result of BREXIT, businesses have been facing several challenges with workforce shortages. Luckily, sponsorships appeared and you, as a business, can now sponsor a Chef.
Worry not, it may be easier than you think…
Previously only highly skilled Chefs with a salary of £30,000 or above were allowed, for example, Head Chef, Sous Chef or Speciality chef, but did you know this has changed?
The UK Government has introduced the new Skilled Worker Visa which has reduced the salary threshold to £25,600/£10.10 per hour/”The Going Rate” for the type of work you are doing this could decrease further for a new entrance to just £20,480 (conditions apply) down from £30,000!!
Also, there is now no need for the resident labour market test – drastically reducing the overall possible time to hire.
What are the main benefits of sponsoring?
As a business we have been working in the international recruitment market for over 10 years, helping people relocate and businesses hire International talent and we have found that there are several key benefits to a business sponsoring:
How much will this cost me?
But how much will this cost me I hear you ask? Maybe not as much you may think!
The total fees payable are split between you the employer and the employee. (https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application/who-needs-pay)
For a Small business the cost of a Sponsorship licence is a one-off fee of £536 (small business) you will then need a Certificate of sponsorship per person - £199 and then an Immigration Skills Charge of £364 per sponsored person per year Giving you a total of £1,099
The cost for the candidate starts between £610 and £1,220 if applying from overseas or between £704 and £1,408 if applying with in the UK. Every Sponsored employee will need to show they have sufficient funds (£1,270) available to support themselves (if the employer does cover this cost) and pay the Immigration Health Surcharge per year for the latest costs please check https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application/how-much-pay
Your application fee will be automatically reduced by £55 if you’re from one of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden or Turkey.
How do I find chefs?
Another question we are asked is “I have the sponsorship licence, but how do I find the chefs?”
Not only have we seen an increasing number of businesses looking into sponsorship, but we still have a high demand from our candidates to relocate to the UK COREcruitment have hubs in South Africa, The Netherlands, France and the USA and have access to highly-skilled, experienced and pre-qualified chefs looking for a challenge in the UK.
As a Business, we have partnered with Immigration experts who can guide you through the process of setting up your business as an approved sponsor and will be able to ensure your business remains compliant throughout so you don’t have to.
On Wednesday 29th September, COREcruitment and Nation.better organised a special webinar to discuss the changes and opportunities with the "Skilled Worker Visa" and how this could help your business and the chef shortage in the UK.
Re-watch here: https://bit.ly/3Ao8CGJ
If you are interested in finding out more about how COREcruitment can help you with the recruitment of overseas staff and would like to talk to our partners about your eligibility to apply for a sponsorship licence, please get in touch: stuartcampbell@corecruitment.com.
Stuart Campbell
Divisional Manager and Lead consultant
Stuart looks after Chefs and FOH Management recruitment for small and large restaurant groups alike.
He has been working for COREcruitment for a few years now and has loved every minute of his time here!
In his role, he gets to work at all levels from junior staff up to senior management. As much as senior management recruitment is important, the most rewarding placements a specialist can make are with lower-level placements: you get a real sense of helping the candidate and giving them advice on their career.
It is very worthwhile as they are realising their full potential.