Sheila Woods
Industries facing local labour shortages, such as the hospitality industry, can often find it difficult to source stable, ongoing employees – and the impacts of this can be especially difficult for small businesses. A business owner of a bakery shared these particular concerns with us, expressing how instability in the labour market had negatively impacted his business and why he therefore wanted to understand his options to employ overseas employees. Previously he had been reluctant to employ visa holders due to the complexities of the process and the responsibility to manage sponsorship obligations, however he wanted to make an informed decision and therefore sought our advice.
During our consultation, I advised the business owners of the process, costs involved and the responsibilities and obligations of employing visa holders, including the work limitations for different visa types. I also advised how we assist businesses with their obligations to comply with changing migration laws by providing training and assisting with audits if necessary. He was relieved that with our guidance, the process was no longer as complex as it once seemed and as a result, he decided to proceed with the migration process to employ visa holders with our assistance. As a team, we guided and assisted him and his visa applicant with the entire process – sponsorship, nomination and visa, each step of the way.
I’m very happy with the outcome and I’m glad the client was equally happy, too. Investing in sponsorship provided him the option to seek employees from overseas when needed so that his business could run continuously with minimal labour interruptions. His business is now thriving – he has opened a few other branches and it has since grown into a well-recognised franchise in Perth. We have continued to assist the business with meeting labour shortages when required and assisted his sponsored employees to become permanent residents through employer-sponsored pathways.