Appendix D Record-Keeping Checklist for UK Sponsors
Appendix D of the Workers and Temporary Workers sponsor guidance sets out what records UK employers must keep for every sponsored worker. Get it wrong and a Home Office visit can cause licence downgrade or revocation. Here's the full list in plain English.
This is a checklist, not legal advice
Appendix D and sponsor duties change frequently. For sponsor-specific advice tailored to your business, message Roman via the portal or book a mock audit.
What is Appendix D?
Appendix D is a section of the official UK sponsor guidance published by the Home Office. It lists every document that licensed sponsors must keep about their sponsored workers and their sponsorship operations. The records must be available for inspection during a compliance visit and may be requested as evidence in any UKVI enquiry.
Records must be kept for the duration of sponsorship, plus 1 year after the worker leaves or the licence ends - whichever is later.
The 10 record categories
1. Sponsor licence documents
- Licence summary and grant letter
- SMS access screenshots
- Current CoS allocation
- Key personnel records
- Notes on any organisational changes
2. Worker identity and right to work
- Passport (biographical page)
- eVisa / share code outputs
- Right to work check report
- Visa grant letter or BRP if available
- National Insurance evidence
3. CoS and job role
- Assigned Certificate of Sponsorship
- SOC code and job description
- Statement confirming current duties
- Manager confirmation of role
- Work location record
4. Recruitment and genuine vacancy
- Advertisements (if posted)
- Total applications received
- Shortlist and interview notes
- Selection reasoning
- Explanation for non-advertised recruitment
5. Payroll and salary
- Payslips for the sponsorship period
- RTI / FPS submissions
- Bank statement evidence of salary payment
- P60 / P45 documentation
- Pension and deductions records
6. Attendance and absence
- Rotas and timesheets
- Annual leave records
- Sickness absence log
- Unpaid leave authorisations
- Return-to-work forms
7. Contact history
- Current and historic home address
- Current phone number
- Current email
- Emergency contact details
- Confirmations when details were updated
8. HR documents and policies
- Signed employment contract
- Written particulars statement
- Staff handbook
- Disciplinary and grievance policies
- Holiday, sickness, data protection and H&S policies
9. SMS reports and change log
- Screenshots of every SMS report submitted
- Late report explanations (if any)
- Organisation change reports
10. Audit reports and action plans
- Most recent mock audit report
- Open risk register
- Active remediation plan
- Monthly monitoring records
Common mistakes
- Right to work checks done late, missing share codes, or repeated late
- Only digital payslips with no bank evidence of payment
- No record of why a worker was selected over UK applicants
- Stale contact details - phone/email from when the worker was hired
- Missing manager confirmations when worker duties evolve
- SMS reports filed late or not screenshotted for audit evidence
What to do next
Use this list to audit your own records. If you find gaps, do not create backdated documents - instead, prepare lawful current-dated remediation documents (e.g. fresh share codes, manager confirmation notes, updated contact details) and flag the gap explicitly.
Want Roman to review your Appendix D records?
AuditShield runs structured Appendix D gap reviews. Fixed fee from £995.