There’s a cliched saying in business that you need to speculate to accumulate. As trite as that expression may be, there’s more than a grain of truth in it. Spending money to get more back than you put in is what every business owner is trying to do. For example, if you’re going to invest in a finance tracking app, you want to make sure the monthly cost is less than the value it provides over time. The same principle applies to everything you do within your business, including hiring people.

As the great David Brent once said in The Office, “investment in people”. He might not have known a lot about business and finance, but he knew enough to say that people are an important investment for any business. That’s why you need to hire the right people. You might be lucky and have a deep pool of talent in your local area or, indeed, the country.

International Recruitment Requires Careful Consideration

However, what happens when you need to look further afield for talent? That’s when things get trickier in a variety of ways. In this context, the variable we're most concerned with is cost. There are certainly benefits to employing people from overseas. From introducing different workplace practices and ideas to creating links in new markets, foreign workers can be a boon for any business. However, as we’ve said, the long-term value needs to outweigh the costs for it to be a smart move.

Employing people from outside of the UK requires a sponsor licence. As noted by immigration lawyer Reiss Edwards, a sponsor licence “enables UK companies to hire foreign workers” by issuing “Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS)”. There are a variety of requirements and standards a company has to meet to receive a sponsor licence, including:

• Your company must be genuine, operating lawfully and be based in the UK
• Your company must not present a threat to immigration
• Your company must have a suitable and reliable HR system capable of meeting the reporting requirements of a sponsor

Already, you can see that there are costs involved in this process. For starters, you might need to engage the services of immigration lawyers, such as Reiss Edwards, to help with the application process. Then, you need to cover the administration and HR costs associated with holding a sponsor licence. Beyond these costs, you need to decide if you want to hire people on a temporary or permanent basis.

The Costs of Recruiting Foreign Workers

towfiqu barbhuiya jhevwhcbvyw unsplash

Credit: Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash.

The application fee for each is £536 if you’re a small business. However, if you’re a medium or large business, a temporary worker application costs £536, while a permanent worker application costs £1,476. Alternatively, you can pay £1,476 for a dual sponsor licence if you’re a small or large company. You also need suitable employer’s liability insurance that covers your business for at least £5 million. You also have to factor in CoS costs of between £25 and £239, depending on the type of licence you hold.

Finally, there’s the salary and benefits you need to pay someone to relocate from overseas. In short, there are a lot of obvious and not-so-obvious costs when it comes to recruiting people from abroad. That’s not to say the expense isn’t worth it. You may well find that foreign employees have a positive return on investment (ROI).
But, as it is with all things in business, you need to think carefully before you take the plunge. The way you do that is by researching what’s involved in hiring people from overseas. This, in tandem with guidance from qualified experts, should help you calculate if the benefits do outweigh the costs.