HAM

Brief history
Have been approached by recruitment agency with potential job offer
Advised them we needed sponsorship – we meant through employing company
Recruitment agency have contacted a sponsoring agency and asked them to sponsor us which they have approved

As we understand it this means hubby will be employed by sponsoring agency NOT employing company ie working on a contract basis

Question

Has anybody any experience of this?
What are the pitfalls?
Do you get things like sickness and holiday pay?
Can we apply for PR from this?

We can not see what benefits this has for an employing company as surely it costs them more as they have fees to pay…or does this come off our salary???

Many thanks in advance...

JAJ

1. Read this thread:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=324062

2. As far as getting PR is concerned, if you're employed by an agency and your real employer wants to sponsor you for ENS after 2 years, the exemption from a skill assessment for those spending 2+ years on a 457 requires you to have been a *direct* employee of the employer for at least a year. Working for an agency doesn't count.

3. Make sure you have full medical cover - you get medicare access that's limited at best. The employer should cover the cost. Also make sure the employer is prepared to pay for extra school fees you incur (especially in NSW) and relocate you back to the UK at the end of your assignment. If the employer won't do this, then the 457 visa may not be the right status for you and you need a clear understanding of the risks.


Jeremy

HAM

Thanks for that Jeremy

So what are the benefits for an employing company to use a sponsoring agency?? surely they'd be better to 'cut out the middle man' and sponsor us themselves either on a 457 or better still ENS.
Are there ANY advantages to US in using a sponsoring agency?....

JAJ

If they are serious about employing someone long term (and it's a good employer), then it makes sense to sponsor directly for ENS/RSMS.

However if the workload is short term or variable in nature then employers tend to use agency staff.

There might be if you were Australian and wanted to work on a flexible basis. But when you don't have any secure foothold in the country it's not really the way you likely want to live.

There are few if any good things about this type of employment if you are not an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or NZ citizen.

Some people on 457 visas can get Living Away from Home Allowance, but this doesn't apply to everyone and even then it often doesn't make up for the extra costs and hassles.

Jeremy

Bix da Boss

I gotta say Ham this sounds like a shite deal to me.
I can only see the agency and indirectly the employer benefitting from this.

The least I would consider is a 457 direct with an employer who is committed to sponsoring for PR later through RSMS or ENS.

I would certainly investigate a lot more on those lines first.

What does hubby do?

2foot

Hi,

we are doing the same thing - though the agency takes 2% of wages to pay for their applications and job serching etc.

OK not perfect but understandable.

We are hoping to move from the agencys "457 labour agreement" to the employers sponsoring "rsms" visa.

Jaj - could you tell me the implications of this please?


cheers

2f

HAM

Hi Bix

We thought it sounded like a pretty raw deal too, which is why we came on here for advice. Hubby is an insurance broker so we don't get anywhere near on skilled visa options. However he specialises in marine business and there is a shortage of this expertise in aus which is why he has been approached with this job offer.
On saying its a bum deal though....having consulted an agent over here for advice it would appear it's not that uncommon these days for large companies to sponsor this way...and he said things can be negotiated. We have to wait until monday really when we can discuss further with the company and hopefully negotiate SOME things in OUR favour!!...you know school fees...medical insurance etc.
If we can get a deal that's right for US then we'll probably go for it...