Guide
A sponsored worker is off. What do we need to record, and when must we report it?
By Sponsor ComplIANS · 12 November 2026 · 7 min read
Record every absence on the first day and tell HR and payroll the same day, not just the coordinator. Two rules matter for sponsors. If a worker is absent without your permission for more than 10 consecutive working days, report it on the SMS within 10 working days after the 10th day. If a worker is absent without pay, or on reduced pay, for more than 4 weeks in total in a calendar year, report it, and unless a permitted reason applies you must normally stop sponsoring them. Both depend on counting the days, which nobody can do if HR never hears about the absence.
Which absences must be reported?
- Without permission
More than 10 consecutive working days
Report on the SMS no later than 10 working days after the 10th day of absence, even if you will keep sponsoring the worker (Part 3, C1.15 and C1.19).
- Unpaid or reduced pay
More than 4 weeks in a calendar year
Report it. Unless a permitted reason applies, you must normally stop sponsoring the worker (Part 2, S4.19).
- Shorter absences
No report needed
Keep a record anyway. It is how you will know when a limit is getting close.
When you report absence without permission, give the worker's last known address, phone number and personal email (Part 3, C1.17). The 4-week total is counted on the worker's normal working pattern (Part 2, S4.21).
Which reasons let us keep sponsoring past 4 weeks?
You must still report, but you need not stop sponsoring where the absence is for statutory maternity, paternity, parental, shared parental, adoption or neonatal care leave; sick leave; helping with a humanitarian or environmental crisis, if you agreed; legally organised industrial action; jury service; or attending court as a witness (Part 2, S4.26). If none applies but you think there are compelling reasons to continue, report the absence and your reasons. The Home Office may still cancel the worker's permission.
Why do absences go unreported in care?
Because the person who hears first is usually the coordinator, and their job is the visits. A worker rings the on-call line at 6:40am, the coordinator covers the day, and the absence lives in the rota. HR and payroll find out days later, if at all. By then nobody knows whether the absence had permission, how many working days have passed, or what pay is owed.
| When | What happened | What the record should show |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 2 Nov | Sickness reported to the coordinator; visits covered. | Record opened; HR and payroll told the same day. |
| Thu 5 Nov | HR hears of it from a weekly rota report. | Three days lost. HR asks for a fit note. |
| Tue 10 Nov | Fit note received and filed. | Absence confirmed as sickness, with permission. |
| Payroll | Payroll processed only the hours on the rota. | Pay decided under the sick pay policy, the CoS and the guidance, not the rota. |
| Mon 16 Nov | Worker returns. | Return-to-work held; payroll told; record closed. |
This absence had permission, so the 10-day rule was not triggered. Sick leave is a permitted reason, but HR still tracks the 4-week total. Had the worker stopped making contact, HR would have needed to count working days without permission from the first day.
Who should do what?
- Coordinator actsTakes the call, covers the visits, opens the absence record and tells HR and payroll the same day.
- HR decidesDecides whether the absence is permitted, collects evidence, counts the working days and makes the reporting decision.
- Payroll paysPays according to HR's decision, not the rota, and flags any drop below the CoS salary.
- Manager reviewsReviews open absences each week, signs off any report and keeps the evidence.
- Close the recordWhen the worker returns: dates, reason, evidence, pay decision and reporting decision all on file.
The audit highlighted gaps we had unknowingly normalised. Fixing them has made us stronger and far more confident.
What records should we keep?
Appendix D requires a record of each sponsored worker's absences, on paper or electronically (Appendix D, section 5(e)). For each absence, keep the dates, the reason in the worker's words, who was told and when, the decision on whether it was permitted, the pay decision, and the reporting decision with any SMS reference. Keep fit notes and medical details in the worker's HR file, not on shared rota sheets.
This article gives general information, not legal advice. Guidance checked on 11 November 2026. Check the current guidance and your own circumstances before acting.
Free Working Pack 02: absence recording and handover record
A four-page record to start on the first day of each absence and keep until the absence is closed. It covers:
- Recording the absence and the reason in the worker's words.
- Telling the coordinator, HR, payroll and the manager the same day.
- Deciding whether the absence is permitted, and counting the days.
- Reviewing pay, staffing and reporting, with an owner for each.
- An action log and a close-out checklist.
Sponsor ComplIANS Live, 26 November 2026
Sponsor ComplIANS Live is a practical day for payroll, HR, coordinators and managers in care providers that sponsor workers. It covers why care providers are losing sponsor licences, who does what across HR, payroll, recruitment and coordinators, and a full demonstration of the Hub.
- When: Thursday 26 November 2026, 9am to 5pm
- Where: Leicester Marriott Hotel
- Paid by 11:59pm UK time on Thursday 19 November: £699 + VAT for the first attendee and £300 + VAT for each additional attendee booked together
- After that: £999 + VAT and £600 + VAT
Attending does not guarantee compliance or any outcome with the Home Office.
In the Sponsor ComplIANS Hub, Absence & Leave records each absence and shows whether it is approaching a Home Office reporting threshold (absence without permission, or unpaid or reduced pay) and what it means for the rota. Absence & Leave is part of Sponsor Compliance Core. It does not submit anything to the Home Office: your team still decides and reports. See the Compliance Hub
Related questions
Do we have to report a sponsored worker who is off sick?
Not usually while the absence has permission. Sick leave is a permitted reason, but if the worker is on no pay or reduced pay for more than 4 weeks in total in a calendar year you must still report it.
When does the 10-day clock start?
From the first working day the worker is absent without your permission. The report is due no later than 10 working days after the 10th consecutive working day of that absence.
Does the rota count as an absence record?
Not on its own. A rota shows visits covered, not whether the absence was permitted, the reason, the evidence or the pay and reporting decisions.