From 8 October, a Skilled Worker recognised as a victim of modern slavery can have their work restrictions lifted

From 8 October 2026, a sponsored worker’s visa can stop depending on you in one specific case, and most sponsors haven’t heard about it.

A new rule in the Immigration Rules lets a Skilled Worker who has received a positive Conclusive Grounds decision from the National Referral Mechanism have their work restrictions lifted. In plain terms, they can take any job, go self-employed or volunteer, without their status hanging on the employer who sponsored them. If you hold a sponsor licence, here is what the rule says, what it doesn’t say yet, and what to do before it starts.

What the rule says

The change is in Statement of Changes HC 584, published on 3 September 2026. It adds a new paragraph, SW 18.3, to Appendix Skilled Worker. The text reads:

“A Skilled Worker who has been referred into the National Referral Mechanism and is in receipt of a positive Conclusive Grounds decision, where that decision was made during their most recent permission, may have the conditions in SW 18.2(b) to (e) amended, such that any work (including self-employment and voluntary work) is permitted, except for work as a professional sportsperson (including as a sports coach).”

It comes into force on 8 October 2026.

Two terms worth knowing. The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting potential victims of modern slavery. A Conclusive Grounds decision is the NRM’s final decision that a person is a victim. Only a positive one triggers this rule.

What the old rule was

Until now, a Skilled Worker’s permission has been tied to their sponsored job, with a short list of exceptions such as supplementary work and volunteering. Leaving the sponsor put the worker’s status at risk. Commentators including Free Movement point out that this was a real deterrent to coming forward: report exploitation and you could lose your visa and everything that depends on it.

According to Free Movement’s reading of the explanatory material, the Home Office wants to “encourage victims to come forward early and reduce the scope for sponsors to use immigration status as a means of control.”

Who it applies to

It applies to an individual worker, and only where three things are true: they are on the Skilled Worker route, they have been referred into the NRM, and they hold a positive Conclusive Grounds decision made during their most recent permission.

It does not apply to sponsors directly. It does not change who can be sponsored or what a sponsor licence requires. It changes what happens to one worker’s tie to the sponsoring job.

What it doesn’t say yet

Read the wording again. The worker “may have” their conditions amended. That is discretionary language, not an automatic entitlement, and the published rules don’t yet say whether the Home Office will vary conditions itself or wait for an application. Free Movement expects implementing guidance around the October start date. As at 29 September 2026, we haven’t seen it.

Other questions are still open, including how the rule treats leave that was curtailed after a sponsor licence revocation, and what it means for settlement. One law firm’s commentary says the relief doesn’t extend the visa beyond its original expiry date, but the rule text itself is silent on that, so treat it as an interpretation until guidance confirms it.

We also haven’t found anything in the rule that changes your sponsor duties. That is not the same as confirming nothing changes. Your reporting duties when a sponsored worker stops working for you are set out in your sponsor guidance, and we’ll update this post if the implementing guidance touches them.

What difference it makes to you as a sponsor

For most sponsors, in most years, the difference will be nothing. The rule covers a small group of workers, and it depends on a decision that comes from outside your business.

The difference is in how you think about the tie. A sponsored worker is not always someone whose status you hold. If a worker discloses exploitation, the Home Office now has a route that lets them leave without losing the right to work, and how you respond to that disclosure is a compliance question as well as a human one.

What to do before 8 October

1. Check how disclosures reach the right person. If a sponsored worker raised a concern about pay, hours, deductions or conditions, who would hear it, and would they know what to do next? Write it down.
2. Look at your Modern Slavery Act 2015 position. If your organisation publishes a statement or has supply chain obligations under the Act, make sure your HR and sponsor teams have read it alongside your licence duties. They sit side by side, not against each other.
3. Keep your records straight. If a worker’s circumstances change, your reporting and record-keeping duties still apply as set out in your sponsor guidance. Know where they are before you need them.
4. Watch GOV.UK for implementing guidance. It will decide how the rule works in practice.
5. Get advice on any specific case. This is general information, not legal advice, and a live situation with a named worker should go to a qualified immigration adviser.

The Home Office Audit Checklist covers the record-keeping side, and the Sponsor Licence Duties guide for Authorising Officers covers what you owe the Home Office when a worker’s circumstances change.

If you’d rather have one place that tracks your sponsored workers, your duties and your dates, that is what Borderless is built for.

Source: Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules, HC 584, 3 September 2026, Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 18.3. Commentary: Free Movement, Hextons Law. Not legal advice.