CoS assignment and recruitment controls

Choose the right certificate

Defined CoS are for Skilled Worker entry-clearance applications; Undefined CoS cover Skilled Worker applications inside the UK and relevant other sponsored routes. Eligibility restrictions still apply.

• Reconcile job, occupation code, salary, hours, locations, start date and proposed visa route.
• Use an independent reviewer to check the final data before assignment.
• Keep the business case and recruitment evidence with the decision.

Treat assignment as a controlled commitment

A CoS is an electronic sponsorship record. The worker must normally use it within three months; it does not itself authorise work.

• Log allocations, assignments, withdrawals, expiry and approvals.
• Check relevant qualifications, professional registration and ATAS requirements.
• Retain the final assigned record and any sponsor notes so later changes can be compared.

Suggested assignment approval pack

Bring the proposed assignment into one review record: business need, actual duties, recruitment history, occupation analysis, pay and hours, work locations, intended dates and the person's relevant circumstances. Identify which facts are verified and which remain provisional. The assigning user should be able to trace every important field to an approved source without recreating the recruitment decision.

Before assignment, compare the final draft with the approved pack. Record the reviewer and the version checked. If a material detail changes after approval, return the affected decision for review and preserve the history.

• Reconcile the vacancy description with the role the manager actually needs.
• Check that finance and HR approved the same pay and hours figures.
• Keep unresolved eligibility or document questions visible before committing the record.

Suggested post-assignment reconciliation

Maintain a register showing the certificate reference, route, assignment decision, intended start and subsequent events. Compare the assigned data with onboarding and the eventual work arrangement. Investigate a missed start, changed proposal or unused certificate through the appropriate review process, rather than leaving the record indefinitely marked as assigned.

Recruitment evidence should explain the genuine process followed. Keep the vacancy approval, interview or selection records and any relevant qualification checks together. A polished job description written after the decision may leave the original rationale unclear; retain contemporaneous evidence and explain later corrections.

Fictional practice scenario

A fictional employer approves a role at one weekly-hours figure, while a copied CoS draft contains a different figure from an older vacancy. A second review catches the mismatch before assignment and asks HR, the manager and payroll to confirm the intended arrangement.

The exercise demonstrates data reconciliation. It leaves the salary and sponsorship implications to the relevant rule review and does not assume that changing a field alone resolves every underlying issue.