Essential tips for Healthcare sponsors in the UK

Jan 23, 2018
Paul Johnson

Healthcare sponsors are more than individuals. A sponsor could be an employer, an institution, a company, or a group of organizations. The unifying attribute of healthcare sponsors is that they establish and support healthcare plans such as employer-sponsored group disability policy, accident insurance for the benefit of the organization’s employees.

Sponsors in the healthcare sector take on the responsibility of launching, managing, and financing health services. Some sponsors even specializes in employment services, project-based research within and outside the NHS.

According to the UK policy framework for health and social care research, a sponsor is described as an individual, organization or partnership that takes on overall responsibility for proportionate, effective arrangements being in place to set up, run and report on a research project.

The steps to becoming a healthcare sponsor in the UK are easy and straightforward. And the specific details the following:

  • An awareness and assurance that your services uphold and support the principles, values, and visions of National Health Service (NHS).
  • Proper preparation and application for a sponsor license perhaps you want to hire someone into your organization who is from the European Economic Area (EEA). The license allows you, the employers to apply for Certificate of Sponsorship.
  • When you secured the sponsorship license you’ll be given access to the sponsor management system (SMS). This further enables them to issue a Certificate of sponsorship to non- EEA workers.
  • You have to choose the type of license you want to apply for. And this will depend on what kind of health worker you wish to sponsor.
  • Lastly, you have to decide who will manage the sponsorship within your provision.

Healthcare sponsors become more relevant when employing someone or people outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland to work in the UK. They play an essential role in aiding the employment of non-European workers into the healthcare system.

A sponsor can assign specific responsibilities to any other individual or organization that is willing and able to accept them. Any allocation of duties to another party should be formally agreed upon and documented by the sponsor.

Every study that falls under the remit of the Secretary of State for Health must have a formal sponsor. This includes all research in health and social care that involve NHS patients. There are similar requirements for research involving social care practitioners, clients, and resources, where this falls under the Secretary of State for Health’s remit.

The peculiar functions of healthcare sponsors include:

  • They ensure that their foreign workers possess the necessary skills, qualifications or professional accreditations to do their jobs. And they keep copies of documents that stand as evidence
  • The sponsors only assign certificates of sponsorship to workers when the job is suitable for support.
  • They inform UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) if their sponsored workers are not complying with the conditions of their visa.
  • For sponsors that have HR personnel, they keep copies of relevant documents for each employee, including passport and right to work information.
  • They monitor your employees’ immigration status, track and record employees’ attendance
  • They keep employee contact details up-to-date and report to UKVI if there is a problem, for example, if your employee stops coming to work.