Whether you’re looking for a new chef to help plan and oversee a new menu or a bar manager to direct and coordinate catering and bar facilities, getting the right staff in place is a challenge within the Hospitality and Catering sector.
There has been a long-standing shortage of skilled chefs, particularly at the mid to senior level. Young people have not been entering the profession in sufficient numbers, partly because of the long hours, low pay (in comparison to other industries), and high stress associated with kitchen work. Additionally, the lack of formal training and apprenticeship has exacerbated the skills gap.
Because of the skills shortage, many employers are actively seeking talented and well-qualified people from overseas to work in the UK. Not only are these employees plugging the skills gap, but they are adding to the overall diversity in culture and knowledge, which is especially attractive for restaurants and other hospitality companies given the UK’s leading position for tourism and leisure.
Not all job listings or occupational codes (SOC) within the hospitality sector will be eligible for international recruitment. It is important to ensure the right classification and subsequent job description are compliant to prevent rejection or delays for both your employment process and the applicant.
Passportia, through the use of the AORA immigration platform, can easily flag any non-approved SOC code allowing you to take relevant action.
Common Hospitality Jobs that are eligible
| SOC Code | Job Type | Related Job Title |
| 1221 | Hotel and accommodation managers and proprietors | Caravan park owner Hotel manager Manager (passenger ships) Service flats manager |
| 1222 | Restaurant and catering establishment managers and proprietors | Café owner Operations manager (catering) Restaurant manager Shop manager (takeaway food shop) |
| 1223 | Publicans and managers of licenced premises | Landlady (public house) Licensee Manager (wine bar) Publican |
| 5431 | Butchers | Butcher Butcher’s assistant Butchery manager Master butcher Slaughterman |
| 5432 | Bakers and flour confectioners | Baker Baker’s assistant Bakery manager Cake decorator Confectioner |
| 5433 | Fishmongers and poultry dressers | Butcher (fish, poultry) Filleter (fish) Fish processor Fishmonger Poultry processor Process worker (fish, poultry) |
| 5434 | Chefs | Chef Chef-manager Food stylist Head chef Pastry chef |
| 5436 | Catering and bar managers | Bar manager Catering manager Floor manager (restaurant) Kitchen manager Steward (club) |
Source: Skilled Worker visa: eligible occupations and codes - GOV.UK
Common Hospitality Jobs that are not eligible
|
SOC Code |
Job Type |
Related Job Title |
|
9261 |
Bar and catering supervisors |
Bar supervisor |
|
9262 |
Hospital porters |
Hospital porter |
|
9263 |
Kitchen and catering assistants |
Catering assistant |
|
9264 |
Waiters and waitresses |
Food and beverage assistant |
|
9265 |
Bar staff |
Barmaid |
|
9266 |
Coffee shop workers |
Barista |
Source: Skilled Worker visa: eligible occupations and codes - GOV.UK
Sponsor Licence
As with most sectors, the Hospitality and Catering sector still may need a Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence when recruiting from overseas. Passportia can assess whether the business qualifies and can prepare the application at a very competitive fee. A Sponsor Licence is a strategic investment for the future, a form of insurance for ensuring operational stability and a means to enhance the level of service provided by the business.
In some cases, an existing sponsor licence in a company group or co-owned business can be extended to other businesses in the group. Ideally, one licence covers the whole group, providing flexibility in assigning migrant workers to different operations as needed.
Compliance and SMS Management
Restaurants and similar businesses have been subject to increased Home Office compliance visits so ensuring compliance is essential. Passportia can conduct ongoing compliance audits to ensure that the sponsored staff are managed in a way that is compliant with the rules. This is important as responsibility does not stop once a visa is issued.
Passportia can also manage your Sponsor Management System (SMS) to ensure that it is kept up to date and notified of staff or other relevant changes.
What can Passportia do for your visas?
There are many different ‘moving parts’ when considering international recruitment. Passportia will support and work with you to ensure the Sponsorship and Visa application process is compliant and completed as quickly and efficiently as possible. There is a report showing outcomes for a variety of scenarios.
Before a job listing is published, Passportia can assess the eligibility of a proposed job and compute the minimum salary required. Automated justification letters and reports are issued to demonstrate a high level of due diligence which is often overlooked but is essential should a compliance check be conducted.
For a potential applicant for a particular job, Passportia can assess eligibility for a Skilled Worker Visa or further Leave To Remain. Detailed reports are also issued explaining eligibility, costs and timings for a proposed period of sponsorship.
For the candidate chosen, Passportia can then prepare and submit the application for the Certificate of Sponsorship and visa (entry clearance) or further Leave to Remain, filling in all the Home Office UKVI forms.
Our immigration platform, AORA, collects data and document scans from staff and job applicants using intelligent, smartphone-friendly, white-labelled questionnaires. This approach ensures your chosen applicant has a great initial user experience with the UKVI application process as their first step in securing a new opportunity in the UK.
Passportia is powered by AORA Mobility
Passportia, an OISC-regulated company, uses the AORA Mobility platform to deliver increased time savings and higher levels of data consistency through the application of AI and process automation to Work Visa cases. Using AORA requires less staff time and reduces repetitive manual tasks, in many cases, users can save up to 75% of their time when compared to traditional manual processing.
Because of this increased efficiency, Passportia can offer very competitive prices for these services compared to traditional immigration consultancies and lawyers as clients are not being charged for practitioners' time to perform these tasks manually.
AORA is also available for organisations to use directly. By leveraging AORA, your in-house teams can also work more effectively, freeing their time to focus on other value-added tasks. Equally, if you prefer to outsource this process, you can still benefit from greatly reduced costs when compared to traditional immigration consultancy services.
Are you currently outsourcing skilled worker visas? Calculate how much you could save by using Passportia: AORA ROI Calculator
If you don’t already have a sponsor licence, Passportia can make an assessment of eligibility and make the application.
Interested in finding out more? Here’s a video which explains how easily and efficiently a Skilled Worker case is completed when using AORA:
If you’re interested in exploring how a Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence could benefit your hospitality or catering business, then please get in touch with our experts today for a consultation.
PASSPORTIA IS
- A UK immigration & citizenship law specialist
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Nigel Cleur Business Development Manager |
+44 (0)20 3695 5385 (UK)
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