The Court of Appeal has published its judgment on 4 September 2026 in two appeals about Home Office revocation of Skilled Worker sponsor licences, brought by J's Supermarket Limited and Prestige Social Care Services Ltd.
R (J's Supermarket Limited) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ 1147, Court of Appeal (Civil Division), judgment of 4 September 2026. The hearing was on 16 June 2026. The judgment was given by Lord Justice Dingemans.
The appeals challenge the dismissal of two judicial review claims. J's Supermarket's claim was dismissed on 25 July 2025 and Prestige's on 11 November 2025. Both appellants held Skilled Worker sponsor licences that the Home Office revoked in 2024. The court says the appeals concern when the Home Office may revoke a sponsor licence and how procedural fairness applies, following Balajigari [2019] EWCA Civ 673 and Prestwick [2025] EWCA Civ 184. They also concern how the "Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for Sponsors" is construed.
J's Supermarket. The Tooting supermarket was granted a licence on 16 January 2023. After a compliance visit on 9 May 2024, the Home Office concluded that two sponsored workers were doing low-skilled duties that differed from their Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) job descriptions. It suspended the licence on 22 August 2024, giving 20 days to respond. No response was received. The licence was revoked on 10 October 2024, and the revocation was upheld on reconsideration on 12 November 2024. The Home Office relied on Annex C1(z) and paragraphs C1.38, C1.44 and C1.46 of the guidance.
Prestige. The care provider's licence was suspended on 26 March 2024 over attrition rates above the sector average and recruitment concerns. It had assigned 111 CoS since August 2021. The Home Office later said over 40% of sponsored workers were no longer sponsored; the revocation letter of 15 October 2024 recalculated this as 60%. The revocation took immediate effect.
Grounds. Both appellants challenge the judges' approach to section 31(2A) of the Senior Courts Act 1981. Prestige also challenges the construction of "threat to immigration control" in paragraphs C7.3 and C10.1, and of Annex C2(a)-(b). The Secretary of State cross-appeals on Prestige's case.
This item summarises the background, issues and guidance set out in the judgment. The court's conclusions are in the full text.
What this means for applicants
Under paragraph C9.11 of the guidance, a sponsor has 20 working days from written notice of suspension to respond in writing with evidence. Under paragraph C9.14, if no response arrives in time, the Home Office will take whatever action it considers appropriate, which can include revocation.
Related guide
Sponsorship requirements for Skilled Worker
Sources
- [R (J's Supermarket Limited) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ 1147](https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/civ/2026/1147), National Archives