The Sponsor Management System is the Home Office service used for sponsorship administration. Your internal worker record supports that work, but it is not a replacement for an SMS submission.
Separate reporting from record keeping
Part 3 of the sponsor guidance sets out reporting and compliance duties. Appendix D covers documents to retain. A document saved internally does not automatically notify the Home Office, and an SMS report does not remove the obligation to keep its supporting evidence.
Create a reporting record with the worker or organisation concerned, event date, applicable deadline, owner, submitted report and acknowledgement. The usual deadline is ten working days for worker changes and twenty working days for organisational changes, subject to the guidance's exceptions. Check the particular event before setting its deadline.
Check the event before making a report
Unauthorised absence for more than ten consecutive working days is a specific reporting trigger. Report it no later than ten working days after the tenth day of absence. Avoid converting this into a rule that every ten-day absence is reportable: authorised leave and other circumstances require their own treatment.
Changes to salary, role or location need review under the relevant requirements and exceptions. Check whether the proposed change also needs a new application or certificate, rather than assuming an SMS update alone makes it permissible.
Maintain access and an escalation route
Review key personnel and user access when responsibilities change. Keep access personal and controlled; do not circulate shared credentials to cover a holiday. Make sure authorised staff can complete urgent reports and know where supporting records are kept.
Regularly compare open internal actions with actual SMS submissions. If a deadline has been missed, record the facts and obtain advice on the corrective action. Do not backdate a report or describe a draft as submitted.
Certifyd can organise evidence and review dates for the people involved. The authorised sponsor user remains responsible for SMS administration and decisions.