SMS System

SMS System vs Generic HR Platforms for Sponsor Licence Compliance

Generic HR platforms are excellent at what they do: onboarding, leave management, payroll integration, and performance tracking. But sponsor licence compliance is not a generic HR problem. It requires domain-specific knowledge that standard HR software simply does not have. Here is the specificity gap.

What generic HR software does not know

  • Certificate of Sponsorship — Generic HR systems have no concept of a CoS. They do not track CoS use-by dates, do not flag expired unused CoS, and do not link a worker's visa validity to their employment record.
  • SOC-code salary thresholds — The Skilled Worker route has 535 SOC codes, each with its own going rate. The effective threshold is the higher of the route minimum (£41,700) and the SOC going rate. Generic HR software checks against a company pay band; it does not check against Home Office SOC-specific rates that change with policy updates.
  • The 10-working-day reporting clock — A salary change logged in the HR system on 1 June is reportable by 15 June. Generic HR software records the change; it does not start a compliance countdown, escalate at day 7, or lock the record for audit at day 10.
  • Appendix D evidence packs — UKVI expects structured evidence per worker: right-to-work checks, CoS copies, contact history, payslip summary, absence records. Generic HR software holds some of these in separate modules; it does not assemble them into an audit-ready pack on demand.
  • CQC registration gates — Care-sector sponsors must demonstrate CQC registration and the correct SOC code (6135 or 6136) for care workers. Generic HR software has no awareness of CQC status or Home Office care-sector eligibility rules.

Why the gap matters at audit

A UKVI inspector does not ask "Is this person in the HR system?" They ask: "Show me the evidence that this worker's salary has met the SW 14.3B rolling-window requirement for every pay period since arrival. Show me the timestamped record of when this change was reported. Show me the Appendix D file." Generic HR software cannot answer those questions; specialist sponsor compliance software can.

Running both together

The right setup is not an either/or choice. Use your HR platform for what it does best — people management, payroll, and leave — and use specialist sponsor compliance software for the UKVI-specific layer: CoS tracking, reporting deadlines, salary threshold monitoring, and audit pack generation. The two systems complement each other, with the compliance layer drawing worker and salary data from the HR system and adding the regulatory intelligence on top.

Primary source

Frequently asked questions

›Does my existing HR software cover sponsor licence compliance?

Generic HR platforms track hire dates, salaries, and absence — but they do not know what a Certificate of Sponsorship is, do not calculate salary thresholds by SOC code and visa route, do not track the 10-working-day reporting clock, and cannot produce an Appendix D-structured audit pack. If your HR system does not explicitly list 'sponsor licence compliance' as a module, it almost certainly does not cover it.

›Can SMS System work alongside our existing HR platform?

Yes. SMS System is designed to complement, not replace, your HR software. It connects to payroll and HR data feeds for worker details and salary information, then adds the sponsor-licence-specific layer: CoS tracking, UKVI reporting deadlines, Appendix D evidence packs, and SOC-code salary threshold monitoring. Most sponsors run both in parallel.

›What does 'built for sponsor compliance' actually mean?

It means the system understands the domain: it knows that SW 14.3B requires rolling 3-month salary windows, that Appendix D mandates specific evidence categories, that the 10-working-day reporting clock starts from the date of change not the date of discovery, and that CQC-registered care providers have additional eligibility gates. Generic HR software treats a sponsored worker as an employee; sponsor compliance software treats them as a visa-holder with statutory reporting obligations.

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SMS System monitors CoS expiry, salary thresholds and the 10-working-day reporting clock so nothing slips.

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