Planning Your International Workforce for Future Projects

Why oil and gas businesses should build immigration into workforce and project planning

For oil & gas businesses, international recruitment is often driven by projects. A new contract may require specialist engineers. An offshore project may require experienced personnel. A new UK operation may require employees from an overseas group company. The problem is that immigration processes take time. The time to consider immigration is therefore before the project requires the individual — not when the individual is ready to travel.

Immigration should be part of project planning

The current immigration system involves multiple stages, potentially including:

1. Confirming that the role is eligible for sponsorship;

2. Identifying the correct occupation code;

3. Assessing salary requirements;

4. Confirming that the employer holds the appropriate sponsor licence;

5. Obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship;

6. Submitting the visa application;

7. Completing right-to-work requirements; and

8. Coordinating mobilisation.

Any problem at one stage can affect the overall timetable.

Immigration costs should also be budgeted

International recruitment involves costs beyond salary. Depending upon the circumstances, these can include:

• Sponsor licence fees;
• Certificate of Sponsorship fees;
• Immigration Skills Charge;
• Immigration legal fees;
• Visa application costs; and
• Relocation and mobilisation expenses.

The Immigration Skills Charge can apply when a sponsor assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship to certain Skilled Workers and Global Business Mobility workers, with the amount depending on the organisation and duration of sponsorship. These costs should therefore be incorporated into workforce and project budgets at an early stage.

Existing sponsored workers should also be reviewed

Workforce planning is not simply about the next recruit. Businesses should regularly review their existing sponsored workforce to establish whether:

• Duties remain consistent with the Certificate of Sponsorship;
• Salary requirements continue to be met;
• Work locations have changed;
• Reporting lines have changed;
• Contractual arrangements have changed;
• Reportable events have been notified to UKVI;
• Visa expiry dates are being monitored; and
• Sponsor records remain complete.

This is particularly important where employees have moved between projects or taken on additional responsibilities.

Build an immigration audit into workforce planning

For businesses employing significant numbers of overseas workers, a periodic immigration audit can provide an effective way of identifying potential issues before they become operational problems. A useful audit might examine four areas:

1. People

Who is sponsored, when does their permission expire and what role are they performing?

2. Projects

Where are they working, what are they doing and has their deployment changed?

3. Compliance

Are the sponsor’s records, reporting procedures and SMS arrangements up to date?

4. Plan for change

Oil & gas projects rarely remain static. Contracts are extended. Personnel are reassigned. Employees move between projects. Reporting lines change. Overseas assignments become UK assignments — and vice versa. Immigration planning needs to accommodate that reality.

Looking ahead

The UK oil & gas sector will continue to require access to international expertise. But the immigration framework is becoming more technical and places increasing responsibility on employers. The businesses best placed to manage this environment are those which treat immigration as part of strategic workforce and project planning, rather than as an administrative exercise undertaken after recruitment.

For oil & gas businesses, good immigration planning can help protect project timelines, retain key international personnel and reduce sponsor-compliance risk.

The information and opinions contained in this blog are for information only.  They are not intended to constitute advice and should not be relied upon or considered as a replacement for advice.  Before acting on any information contained in this blog, please seek solicitor’s advice from Gilson Gray.