Help regarding ex-employer who sponsored T2G

[incognitos]

Hi
I work in the IT industry. I recently switched Tier 2 General visa from employer A to employer B.
I have given proper notice to my ex-employer A before joining employer B.

My ex-employer A and I had a working agreement verbally of % of contract (75-25) that I would get from IT contracts. So though employer A sponsored me and I was its employee, I worked to get the client contracts on my own and worked there "on behalf of" employer A (through agencies). The surplus beyond my salary on the CoS (salary + surplus = 75% of the IT contract) was held by my employer A which he said will be given as a bonus. He has never given that.

Based on the recent IR35 debacle, my recent client (employer B now) refused to extend contracts, and offered me permanent employment with sponsorship at the end of the contract; which I accepted. Today, I am employed with employer B on Tier 2 General sponsorship - the switch that I referred to above.

My ex-employer A is not happy with this arrangement as the employer was expecting me to be with them for the entirety of 5 years - therefore considers as loss to the employer A's business. Employer A is now demanding to pay a fine which is almost equal to my surplus that it already holds. I have asked for my surplus back from employer A and do not agree to the fine. I have also offered to pay a third of the fine so that I can get part of my surplus back from employer A.

What avenues, if any, do I have to get my surplus money from him considering this surplus is not listed in the employment offer contract? Can I complain about this to Home Office?

Cheers,
Alexa

[CR001]

What you did for employer A was a breach of your visa conditions. You are not permitted to contract or find your own contracts on tier 2 general or work through agencies, it is illegal.

Genuine sponsors also do NOT take a percentage of your salary every month.

Presumably you also paid employer A a fee for your CoS??

Walk away from this. If you involve HO in this, you are exposing yourself to a lot of trouble die to breaching your visa conditions.

[Zerubbabel]

Man that sounds so dodgy!

ex-Employer imposing a fine? Never heard that.

Sometimes you may have legitimate financial arrangements with an employer but they are in written format. It happened to me once (not under Tier 2) to get a bonus but I signed that I will forfeit the bonus if I leave within 1 year. I left after 10 months so they take that money from my last salary.

But what you are describing doesn't seem legit at all.

Did they make you pay for the CoS or something?

Anyway, as CR001 said, try to get out of this without involving the Home Office but still employer A may

[incognitos]

Hi, thank you very much for your quick response. I had a few more queries related to this.

Genuine sponsors also do NOT take a percentage of your salary every month.

The sponsor was not taking a percentage of my salary as it was giving me the salary shown on the CoS. The surplus is what the sponsor did not give me.

Presumably you also paid employer A a fee for your CoS??

Yes I did, and on top of that, the visa fee costs were borne by me.

Walk away from this. If you involve HO in this, you are exposing yourself to a lot of trouble die to breaching your visa conditions.

Thank you for the advice. To probe on this a bit further,

1. what are we actually looking at in terms of breach of visa conditions? Is there a GOV link that I could check to understand this better?
2. What are the implications for both me and the employer if this is exposed?

Besides the above,

1. Employer A is now asking for the employer B's CoS and new BRP so that employer A can report officially to Home Office that I have resigned. Is this really required? Is there any disadvantage to me by sharing this to employer A?
2. Employer A has not paid the salary for the my last month yet. How do I claim this back?
3. Employer A has not given me the P45 yet. Is there a process to get this?
4. Considering now I am with Employer B, if I do not amicably exit this relationship with employer A, when I do have to apply for ILR, are there any documents that I would need from employer A at that point of time? Would the reference letter and travel history document from Employer B be sufficient for ILR? (Apologies this specific one is an ILR question, but the context was about T2G hence had to slip this in than recreate the context on the ILR forum thread)

[incognitos]

Man that sounds so dodgy!

ex-Employer imposing a fine? Never heard that.

Sometimes you may have legitimate financial arrangements with an employer but they are in written format. It happened to me once (not under Tier 2) to get a bonus but I signed that I will forfeit the bonus if I leave within 1 year. I left after 10 months so they take that money from my last salary.

But what you are describing doesn't seem legit at all.

Did they make you pay for the CoS or something?

Anyway, as CR001 said, try to get out of this without involving the Home Office but still employer A may

Thanks for your comments Zerubbabel.
Comparing liabilities, would I be in more trouble considering the breach of visa conditions than employer A? Isn't employer A also in breach of visa sponsorship with this arrangement?

[Zerubbabel]

The trouble is not the same for you and for your employer.

The employer may lose his license and could be fined. He may or may not care about it or maybe he thinks he can talk his way out of it.

For you, you can see your status in the UK compromised. This is, in my opinion, only what should mater for you. It's the impact on your own status if things get escalated to the Home Office.

[CR001]

To probe on this a bit further,
what are we actually looking at in terms of breach of visa conditions? Is there a GOV link that I could check to understand this better?

A. You appear to have been contracting, finding your own contracts for example. This is not permitted. Employers also do not charge a fee for a CoS and the ask employees to find their own contracts through agencies.

B. The immigrations rules part 6a and the guidance notes.

What are the implications for both me and the employer if this is exposed?
Besides the above,
Employer A is now asking for the employer B's CoS and new BRP so that employer A can report officially to Home Office that I have resigned. Is this really required? Is there any disadvantage to me by sharing this to employer A?
Employer A has not paid the salary for the my last month yet. How do I claim this back?
Employer A has not given me the P45 yet. Is there a process to get this?
Considering now I am with Employer B, if I do not amicably exit this relationship with employer A, when I do have to apply for ILR, are there any documents that I would need from employer A at that point of time? Would the reference letter and travel history document from Employer B be sufficient for ILR? (Apologies this specific one is an ILR question, but the context was about T2G hence had to slip this in than recreate the context on the ILR forum thread)

1. Employer A does NOT require employer B CoS or BRP information to inform HO that you have left the company. Your new employer detail has nothing to do with employer A. They ONLY need to report the end of your employment on the SMS system.

2. Contact acas or citizens advice. This is not an immigration issue but San employment issue.

3. They must give this to you once the final payroll for you has been generated. Follow up with HMRC. Again, not an immigration matter and you could complete a P46 form at new employer.

4. An employment absence letter. There is no such as a "reference letter" requirement for ilr.

You should also check the fine print of your employment contract with Employer A, it might well state that you will be charged a fine/fee etc if you leave before X years.