What does this mean?

[confusedapplicant]

Hi all, feeling a bit daft. I've enquired with a major UK employer about whether they are able to provide sponsorship. The standard process is the company give you a job offer and "certificate of sponsorship", and then you provide all the documents to the UK government, and then the government gives you the right to work in the UK and Bob's your uncle, you can start work. How would you interpret these sentences from HR?

"Unless expressly stated in the job advert the role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK."

I asked for clarification but they just repeated the same thing.

"The role will state if the job advert if the role is subject to sponsorship, all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK."

I should add, they have said they routinely sponsor applicants

I think they are wanting to say that unless the job ad says "Sponsorship available" then they want people who have right to work in the UK already only.

But I agree with you it is unclear, due to the use of the word "not". Very vague of them.

Thank you. In the same email chain they said that they do sponsor people all the time. It's doubly confusing because the second part could be interpreted as "your offer is conditional on you providing evidence (at a later date) that the government has approved your right to work"

Everyone has to provide evidence of the right to work in the UK. It's been standard for a few years now, ordinarily for people born here it's their birth certificate/drivers licence/passport. That's what the last sentence means - this is a check for absolutely everyone, anyone who is offered a job has to prove they have the right to work here.

From the HR response it literally needs to be in the advert. In all probability there isn't a scarcity of people with the right qualifications/experience to fill the role which is why sponsorship hasn't been specifically mentioned.

You have three options really...

• Apply anyway on the basis they might offer you sponsorship as the strongest candidate...the possible problem with this is they could view you as wasting their time or you wouldn't pass initial vetting
• Enquire again and ask if job applications are welcomed from people requiring sponsorship even if the advert doesn't specifically mention it's applicable
• Keep an eye on the advert, if they don't get the right candidate they may update the job ad to include sponsorship to widen their recruitment net

Best of luck!

Thank you!

People with my skills are in short supply (it's on the government list of priority occupations for sponsorship so all fine on that front)

I just don't understand how I'm supposed to prove I have the right to work, when I need the job offer first to obtain the right to work (and surely their HR dept must know that's how it goes!)

I thought that was a clear response? Unless the ad you're looking at mentions sponsorship then it's not available.

Their point is that unless the advert says sponsorship is available then they will only recruit candidates who already have the right to work in the UK. I.e. not you.

I think it's only ambiguous to you because you're wishing they were saying what you hoped.

Not all roles can be sponsored, and to avoid the enquiries about it they have wording to say which roles can or can’t be sponsored. It costs a lot to sponsor and maintain the license for it, and some roles won’t meet the criteria so you can’t assume the employer “just” gives you a COS. It’s more complicated than you described in your post.

You would need Right to Work first to apply for this company's position. They are not offering sponsorship. Assume you are not UK based?

Just to be clear it is a major company (40,000+ staff) with offices around the globe and they have confirmed they regularly sponsor. The role in question is eligible in every way (on the shortage list, salary above the required salary etc)

Most ads will simply say "Applicant must have the right to work in the UK" or "Sponsorship not available". With this role, it was left open.

English isn't my first language so find their response confusing

I think it is clear?
They might provide sponsorship, depending on role.
Some ads will say they will sponsor you, others won't.

Are you making a general enquiry or enquiring about a specific, advertised role?

Enquiring about a specific role

This part of the response is relevant then:

Unless expressly stated in the job advert the role is not subject to sponsorship

Unless expressly stated in the job advert

With this role, it was left open

Therefore no sponsorship.

OP, the response really isn't confusing - it's just that you don't want to believe that the role won't sponsor. They've said that unless the job ad specifically states sponsorship is available (which it doesn't) there's no sponsorship available.

The role in question is eligible in every way (on the shortage list, salary above the required salary etc)

It maybe eligible in theory but they are saying that as the advert doesn’t specify that it is, it is only open to people with the right to work in the U.K..

Unless expressly stated in the job advert the role is not subject to sponsorship

English isn't my first language, was just seeking clarification

I think it is clear. You could ask them if they sponsor for this role specifically and see if you get a more definitive answer. Just to note that the COS is only one part of your right to work though. You still have to apply for leave to remain, and the employer has no idea if you meet that criteria - they don’t have the ability to issue that as it comes from the government. So yes they would have to check your right to work to employ you legally once you have a COS and leave to remain.

The company I work for offer sponsorship for some roles, other roles or the contracts that that person will work on require specific vetting or clearance levels. That rules out anyone who isn't a permanent resident with indefinite leave to remain. So for those roles we can't offer sponsorship.

I think the answer they've provided to you is clear, you just want it to be different.

I have mentioned twice that English isn't my first language. I would struggle with this sentence in any other context e.g.

"Unless explicitly stated in the AirBNB listing, the continental breakfast is not subject to marmalade"

The phrase just doesn't make sense to me and was hoping some native English speakers could help me! But instead I feel like people are reading all sorts of motivations into a simple question

It's not particularly grammatical but for a native speaker I think it's quite clear that they won't offer sponsorship for this specific role, even though it's on the shortage list.

It could be that don't manage to find anyone and re-advertise, and at that point may say it was open to those needing sponsorship.

It's the annoying way some people communicate. HR could have responded clearly that no, this role doesn't have sponsorship available and for future reference roles that do have sponsorship will have it stated in the job ad. Instead they've just given a generic response.

This particular job doesn’t offer sponsorship, that’s all it means. Even if you’re in a short supply occupation you have to find a job that sponsors you, which this one doesn’t. That’s my understanding albeit from best friend who’s been trying to move to the uk on a skills based visa.