A Tier 2 sponsor is required to report, to the Home Office, any migrant they sponsor who is absent from work for ten or more consecutive working days without permission. This should be done within ten working days of the tenth day of unauthorised absence.
The Home Office also advises that if a Tier 2 migrant is absent from work without pay for 4 weeks or more in a calendar year, their leave may be curtailed. Paragraph 323A of the Immigration Rules defines the circumstances where a Tier 2 migrant’s leave may be curtailed. There are exceptions to this, including maternity or paternity leave.
I think it is important to state that it has never been the Government’s intention to prevent migrant workers from taking strike action and I am not aware of any cases where that has happened.
However, in order to ensure this position is beyond any doubt, you may be pleased to know that the Government has announced changes to the guidance and Immigration Rules for migrant workers and their sponsors. These changes will see strike action added to the list of exceptions to the rule on employment absences without pay for migrant workers. This means that there will be no immigration consequences for migrant workers taking part in legal strike action.