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Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same owners

Only for the UK Skilled Worker visas, formerly known as Tier 2 visa route

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dialectic
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Thu Mar 31, 2016 10:24 am

Thanks again Frontier Mole

ok. If that's not going to affect things then I'll not prevent them from putting my personal info.

I'm sorry. Some of the questions they ask seem open and the tendency is to put detailed info.

Regarding question 4
4. Please supply an up to date hierarchy chart detailing any owner, director, and board members. If you have 50 employees or fewer please also list all the people involved with the day-to-day running of your business. Tell us about the posts you wish to fill:
The company has around 10 employees. Should the employees be listed with job titles or just the names down in hierarchy under an 'employees' or 'workers' heading?

As they intend to transfer and accept responsibility for me and no other hires are planned for the future, should that be specified on all the other questions where they ask about vacant posts and identified potential workers?


Thanks and sorry again. Just trying to avoid any mistakes or issues. The forum has been really helpful :)

dialectic
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Posts: 138
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Thu Mar 31, 2016 2:42 pm

Sorry. I think I went too long again. I read other threads and will try to be more punctual

Question 5

What post(s) do you intend to assign a CoS for? This information must include:
a. The job title(s) and SOC code(s);
b. The duties of each post;
c. The salary you would guarantee for each post. if it were vacant today;
d. The skill, experience and qualifications required for each post.


Does company B need to put my information here? (I am being tranferred from company A to B so should they answer this question with "Not applicable"?

Question 6

6. Please indicate which posts are currently vacant and for which you intend to assign a CoS. If you have identified someone already that you wish to employ via the sponsorship system, please provide evidence of how you identified this person. If you identified this person as a result of a recruitment process you should include copies of advertisements placed to recruit for the post, details of any applicants and why they were not suitable for the post of offer. Please confirm whether the person is already working for you.


I am being transferred, so no CoS needed according to the rules. Should company B answer this question as "Not Applicable" too? or should they attach documents evidencing the RLMT that was done when company A hired me?

Questions 7 and 8 state similar questions. I just want to confirm that these don't apply to my case...

I'm sorry about this. I called the helpline and they confused me a bit... I read on other posts that licenses have been rejected for not answering all the questions and since some of them don't seem to apply to our case we need to make sure.

Thanks a lot

dialectic
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Mon Apr 11, 2016 1:22 pm

Hi everyone.

Just to keep things up to date. The company B has applied for the license and currently waiting for a response.

I have a question though. Company A has checked the SMS. My CoS appears as "used" / "expired". Is this right? My application with that CoS was succesful and I read somewhere in the boards that sometimes UKVI doesn't update the status of a CoS after a successful application. Is something that I should worry about? I don't want to have misunderstandings, especially now that I'm under this TUPE transfer process. Should I asume that things are ok and that the CoS appears as "used" because it was used for my application that was succesful and my sponsorship is ongoing?

Thanks a lot.

dialectic
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Posts: 138
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Wed Apr 20, 2016 11:22 am

Hi everyone

I just wanted to revisit the topic. I was advised by Frontier Mole to tell my sponsor company (company A) to not do anything through SMS regarding TUPE transfers before having company B licensed. I understand and agree completely. I have a question though. Company B applied for the license on April 5 and they haven't heard back yet.

The plan is to inform via company A's SMS and confirm via company B's email once the license is granted. I was wondering whether it would be a problem if the license for company B takes too long as there are the 20 day deadline rules and so on. Can anyone give any insights/advice on this?

Really appreciate your help :)

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Frontier Mole
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by Frontier Mole » Wed Apr 20, 2016 11:35 am

The twenty working day deadline is to apply for the licence or attempt to apply if rejected etc. after the transfer is undertaken. There is not a requirement in this case for company A to do anything on SMS.

dialectic
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Wed Apr 20, 2016 11:53 am

Frontier Mole wrote:The twenty working day deadline is to apply for the licence or attempt to apply if rejected etc. after the transfer is undertaken. There is not a requirement in this case for company A to do anything on SMS.
Thanks again Frontier Mole. Your advice is very helpful! :)

dialectic
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Posts: 138
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Wed Apr 27, 2016 2:19 pm

Hi everyone

Just catching up in order to ask a couple of things

The license for company B has been granted. The company received a confirmation letter and I was informed that the TUPE is mentioned there so I wanted to know:

- They mention the duty of reporting the transfer accepting responsibility for the transfered migrant. However, they state that original or certified TUPE evidence or similar will be required. What kind of evidence will they need to prove TUPE? What sort of documents?

- The letter also mentions the 20 day rule. How is that determined?

So the next step would be to report from both companies through SMS and wait whether they ask for more documents?

Thanks a lot for your insights. It seems to be on the right track but the TUPE evidence and deadlines are not clear

Really appreciate your help

dialectic
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Posts: 138
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Thu Apr 28, 2016 5:10 am

Hi guys

Any insight on this please?

Thank you :)

dialectic
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Posts: 138
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Tue May 03, 2016 3:55 pm

Hi everyone

Today my employers filled a change of circumstances form via SMS in order to report about the consolidation of Company A and Company B and about transferring me from company A to B under the same circumstances. The Change of Circumstances form was filled on the SMS of both companies. After filling the form online they had to print a submission sheet that needs to be signed and sent within 10 days along with documentary evidence of the companies consolidating. I would like to ask 3 questions:

1. My employers told me that as evidence an affidavit signed by the company director explaining the change was the way to go, including the details of every employee that is being transferred (I'm the only T2 sponsored worker). Is there a special template/requirement for this type of document?

2. The change of circumstances form was done under the "merger" category which is the closest option to the reestructuring (both companies under the same ownership consolidating). I understand there was not a buyout, but a transfer of assets (including employees), will this be an issue?

3. Should they send both forms with the same documentary evidence separately? As I stated both companies have the same owners/directors.

Thanks a lot for your help :)

dialectic
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Posts: 138
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2014 1:15 pm

Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Thu May 05, 2016 1:18 pm

Hi experts

I need your help urgently. My employers have logged a change of circumstances form from both companies Sponsor Management Systems reporting company B taking over all activities of company A and all employees from company A continuing their work under company B with identical circumstances through TUPE.

However. a submission sheet needs to be sent along with documentary evidence of the transfer (TUPE). I was informed that there are no documents that state that TUPE was triggered and that the option would be to sign an affidavit that explains about the shared ownership of both companies and that it was agreed that TUPE regulations apply while doing the change.

Would this be sufficient?

Please help me advice my employers on this. There is a 10 day deadline and the company director only has today and tomorrow to prepare the documents.

Really appreciate your help

hopeforall9
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by hopeforall9 » Fri May 06, 2016 3:42 pm

If anyone could help me out with this, I would really appreciate it.

I will try to simplify this as much as possible, but here is my situation. Sorry if it is a little long.

I work for Company A, which is our registered name and the one we have the Tier 2 licence with. Company B is our parent company which holds all of our shares (and only the shares of Company A, it's the holding company), but does not hold a Tier 2 licence.

Recently the company has decided this structure is too complex for a small company and will be transferring all of the shares and such of Company A into Company B, ultimately changing it to our trading name (which is almost identical to Company A's name), but changing things like our company's registered number with companies house, bank accounts, etc.

When I asked for more clarification to determine if this was a name change, merger, or acquisition, this was the reply I got:

'Technically this is considered as a transfer of employer under TUPE, as the company that directly employs you will change. You will be employed by the parent company of your current employer company. This is common when companies are acquired by other companies, although here there is no change in control.'

Am I right in thinking that this is Company A, my current employer being essentially acquired by our parent company, Company B my soon to be employer. And if this is so, does Company B need to apply for its own licence (which is what I would assume), or is there a way to transfer our current licence to our parent company?

Also could someone please clarify what the 28 days thing is, is it that this is the time they need to apply for the licence from the time of the change/notify the home office of the name change once it is official? It's the change is control staying the same that is throwing me off.

Any help anyone could provide me I would really appreciate it, as I feel it is a similar situation to the one that started this thread. Thank you in advance

manci
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by manci » Fri May 06, 2016 4:36 pm

@ dialectic
@ hopeforall9

The procedure is described in section 13 in the sponsor guidance:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 6_v1.2.pdf

If your present and/or future employer are unclear about what to do they should ring the UKVI employer helpline on 0300 123 4699 or seek advice from an immigration solicitor rather than turn to one of their employees who himself is not familiar with the subject.

Keep in mind that advice carries responsibility and if you tell the company something that is incorrect, and your advice has some adverse consequences, you will be held responsible.

dialectic
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Posts: 138
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Tue Jun 14, 2016 4:35 pm

Hi experts

Just wanted to ask and follow up. My employers submitted a change of circumstances request to report about the merger and me continuing to work under the name of company B. This was done from the SMS of both company A and B and the application form/ documents were sent on early May. My employers have been checking both SmS often and told me that the request appears with the status "pending".

It's been around a month. Should my employers contact UKVI about this or is it advisable to wait? I have been working under company B for a while now since the transfer of undertakings was made. Should I be concerned?

Thanks a lot for your insights :)

dialectic
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Posts: 138
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2014 1:15 pm

Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Wed Jul 06, 2016 1:23 pm

Hi fellow members and experts,

I just wanted to ask again regarding this. As I mentioned, I have been transferred under TUPE from company A to company B and both companies sent a request via SMS of change of circumstances informing about the merge on early May and sent the required evidence. I am checking with my employers constantly and they keep informing me that the status of the request appears as "pending" on SMS. Both companies are still on the sponsor list.

I also found out that our company director, who is the key contact and officer will be away for 5 weeks so I don't know if that would affect his ability to send UKVI any documents that they might request.

Is this situation worthy of advising my employers to call the helpline and find out about the status of the request?. Is this waiting time normal?

I really appreciate any insights that you might have

Thank you :)

dialectic
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Posts: 138
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2014 1:15 pm

Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Thu Jul 07, 2016 11:02 am

Any insights on this?

Thanks a lot!

dialectic
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Posts: 138
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Wed Aug 24, 2016 3:37 pm

Hi experts

UKVI has confirmed the transfer of my sponsorship from company A to company B. So everything went along fine. My employers were notified via email.

I understand that during the request the license of company A was surrendered. However, I was informed that the email from UKVI mentioned making company A's license dormant after the transfer. Is this necessary? Company A is not functioning anymore as the merger took place and everyone is in company B now. The Change of Circumstances request was done from both SMS and all this was specified. I guess is just part of a template wording from UKVI but I just wanted to ask the experts here to make sure.

dialectic
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Re: Company Merger or Change of name? Companies with same ow

Post by dialectic » Tue Aug 30, 2016 6:51 am

Hi just wondering if anyone has insights on the avobe :)

Thanks!

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