RLMT ran by a company that I work for as a free-lancer

[Helle1989]

Hello team!

Really need your expertise on this one, as I am really not sure what to do.

I've been working on a contract for a company for the past year or so - they were roughly 50% of my workload, but they are - at this moment - only a client to me, I am hired and sponsored (Tier 2 General) by a different employer, and my employer invoices these guys for my time. The client company would now like to sponsor me to do the role I've been performing on this contract full time. They need this role and it would exist with or without me.

Is there any way they can do this RLMT so that it doesn't appear unfair, given their familiarity with me?
I am still working in their office on most days, do they need to be "kicking me out" / removing my employer off their service list in order to do it by the rules and not give me unfair advantage?
Can they get some kind of an exemption given our history together and my speciality?

[CR001]

Are you sponsored by a umbrella company, i.e. contracting? You say 'freelance', this is not permitted on Tier 2 as far as I am aware.

Your potential 'new sponsor' will have no exemption from the RLMT and expect this process to be scrutinised by HO to prove you were not 'pre-selected'.

[Helle1989]

Thanks for your reply, and you're right "free lance" is a bad term. I work for a strategy agency. They are a client. No umbrella company between us.

I understand their process will be scrutinised quite a lot, but not sure what they can do to make it as fair as possible. In many respects, they would be hiring for a position in a department I built up whilst working for them in an agency capacity, they would be interviewing for a role that I currently hold through a contract with them (through an agency-client relationship and not full time)... I'd be holding that role throughout these interviews, as they genuinely need someone in it properly. It's a hard RLMT, isn't it?

Thanks to anyone who is trying to help

[CR001]

Is your Tier 2 sponsor an agency? Whose payroll are you on? Do you pay a 'fee' to your sponsor from your earnings? Your post isn't clear on your current visa sponsor.

Yes, your new sponsor will have to prove that there is no settled/BC/EU person who could do the job (and it does not have to be an exact match). Does your potential new sponsor have a sponsor license already?

[Helle1989]

My current sponsor is an agency in a sense of - that is our business model vis-a-vis our clients whom we offer strategic and marketing advice to. It's like an advertising agency, but a bit more marketing and digital strategy-focused than about creating TV ads. I do not pay them anything - nothing murky about that relationship, I started working from this company on PSW and since we achieved great results and I have a speciality in a particular segment of the market that they work within, they sponsored me to stay. I'm the only person they sponsor. I am on their payroll, with my salary being my only source of income.

The prospective new sponsor does not have a licence but would like to apply for one. If they apply for one before conducting RLMT is that seen as unusual (as applying for a licence indicates an intention to hire someone who is not a settled worker, as does even starting RLMT in the first place) or is it accepted?

Thank you very much for any thoughts