Immigration & Compliance Officer

Thames Water Ltd; Reading; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary 33,275–45,000 GBP per year

26 days annual leave (+ holidays)

Performance-related pay

Pension scheme (AON)

Health & wellbeing benefits

Cycle to Work scheme

Job summary

Thames Water is seeking an Immigration & Compliance Officer in Reading to lead sponsorship and right-to-work processes, ensuring regulatory compliance. You will maintain records, manage audits, and provide training to managers and staff to uphold government guidance and company policies.

The role focuses on governance, documentation, and risk mitigation, with responsibilities spanning monthly audits, system data accuracy, and stakeholder engagement to support a compliant workforce across the

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of UK Right to Work legislation and Home Office guidance.
• Experience managing time-limited right to work and sponsorship within sponsor licence.
• Ability to interpret complex legislation and regulatory requirements.
• Experience maintaining records, trackers, and reports.
• Ability to identify risks and implement corrective actions.
• Confident presenting to managers and employees.

Responsibilities

• Act as a subject matter expert on sponsorship processes and right to work.
• Accountable for all sponsorship processes ensuring compliance with internal docs and government guidance.
• Maintain Sponsor Licence and monitor compliance risks.
• Manage Level 1 information in Sponsorship Management System.
• Handle changes in circumstance for sponsored workers.
• Submit reportable events within Home Office timescales.
• Maintain up-to-date right-to-work documentation and process maps.
• Lead internal/external audits and prepare for Home Office visits.
• Ensure records comply with data protection and retention policies.
• Conduct monthly right-to-work audits for new joiners and address anomalies.
• Provide regular training on right to work and sponsorship.

Skills

Right to Work

Sponsorship processes

Compliance governance

Record keeping

Stakeholder influence

Training delivery

Education

CIPD qualification

Tools

SAP HCM

SuccessFactors

Job description

Immigration & Compliance Officer

Company: Thames Water Salary: £33,275 to £45,000 a year Hours: Full-time Location: Reading, RG1 8DB Job type: Permanent Posting date: 3 Nov 2026 Closing date: 16 Nov 2026

Summary

The Immigration & Compliance Officer role is part of the wider People Services Delivery Team. The position will provide first class operational support to employees and the business on immigration matters in recruitment and on-going obligations of those with time limited right to work. The responsibility of the role is to manage all sponsorship processes and corresponding legal and regulatory duties and to ensure Thames Water continues to meet its legal obligations under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 and remains compliant with the Government’s Right to Work Employer’s Guide. In so doing this role is responsible for ensuring that we have on file the appropriate right to work evidence for all Thames Water employees at any given time.

What you’ll be doing as an Immigration & Compliance Officer:

• Act as a subject matter expert for employees, hiring managers, and People team members on sponsorship processes and right to work, escalating to our employment legal partners for advice where appropriate. Identifying any new governance or regulatory compliance requirements that need to be supported/implemented by Thames Water.
• Accountable for all sponsorship processes ensuring compliance with internal documentation and government guidance.
• Support the ongoing maintenance of Thames Water's Sponsor Licence, identifying and mitigating any compliance risks that could affect licence status.
• Manage the responsibilities of the 'Level 1' maintaining accurate details in the Sponsorship Management System for both the license and sponsored workers.
• Accountable for the management of any change in circumstance or changing terms and conditions for sponsored workers.
• Ensure all reportable events are submitted accurately and within Home Office prescribed timescales.
• Accountable for the maintenance of up-to-date documentation on right to work including process maps, notes, hiring manager guides, checklists. Manage the immigration aspects of all employees with time limited right to work, to ensure all employees maintain continued right to work in the UK.
• Lead preparations for internal and external audits, including Home Office compliance visits, ensuring all records and processes are always audit-ready.
• Ensure all immigration and right to work records are maintained in line with data protection requirements and company record retention policies.
• Conduct monthly audits on right to work documentation accepted for new joiners, keep evidence of these checks and feedback any anomalies.
• Maintain accurate trackers and management information that can be distributed when required.
• Provide regular training on right to work and sponsorship – ensuring Thames Water remains compliant with government guidance, and legislative changes.
• Manage those on SC and CTC clearance by ensuring the HR System reflects the additional clearance and then by tracking and highlighting to Security when clearance is due to expire and contacting managers of those with clearance to advise of their duties.

What you should bring to the role:

• Strong knowledge of UK Right to Work legislation, sponsorship requirements, and Home Office guidance
• Experience managing time limited right to work and sponsorship processes while maintaining compliance within a sponsor licence framework
• Ability to interpret and apply complex legislation, policies, and regulatory requirements.
• Experience maintaining accurate records, trackers, management information, and compliance reports
• Ability to identify risks, investigate issues, and implement corrective actions
• Resilient and confident in challenging and influencing stakeholders when compliance requirements must be met
• Confident delivering training, guidance, and presentations to managers and employees

Extra qualities that would be a great fit for our team:

• Experience using SAP HCM, Success Factors, or similar HR systems
• Proactive and self-motivated, with a continuous improvement mindset
• Knowledge of security clearance processes (SC/CTC) and associated compliance requirements
• Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) or equivalent professional qualification and/or HR knowledge

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary of £33,275 - £45,000 per annum, depending on experience
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays)
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

Who are we?

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

About Disability Confident Disability Confident is a government scheme. It encourages employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with long term health conditions.