Both decisions belong before the advert
Sponsorship and IR35 are the two constraints most likely to end a process at the worst possible moment — after everyone has invested weeks. Both are knowable before you advertise, and stating them costs nothing but a sentence.
Say it plainly, either way
- Not a licensed sponsor? State it. Silence is read as "no" regardless, so you get the downside without the clarity.
- Are a sponsor? Say so prominently. It is a genuine differentiator and few adverts mention it.
- Intending to become one? Start the licence before interviewing, not after an offer.
Status and rate travel together
- Determine IR35 status before the advert goes live.
- Publish the day rate alongside the status — contractors filter on both.
- An advert stating neither reads as a company that has not decided.
If you are not yet a sponsor
Becoming a licensed sponsor is an administrative process rather than a hard one, but it is measured in weeks and it cannot be started retrospectively when a candidate you want turns out to need it.
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1
Decide whether you need it at all
If your last three hires were all settled workers, the honest answer may be no — and stating that clearly is better than an application process that discovers it late.
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2
Start the licence before you start interviewing
Running the two in parallel is the only way the timeline works. Starting after an offer means asking your first choice to wait, which they often will not.
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3
Say so in the advert once it is in progress
A stated intention is worth far more than silence, and candidates in this position are used to reading between lines.
This is a summary for planning purposes, not immigration advice. Check the current requirements and timescales before committing to a hire that depends on them.
IR35, briefly
For contract roles, the status determination is yours to make and publish. Contractors read it first because it changes their net position substantially, and an advert that omits it is usually read as inside — or as a company that has not thought about it.
The practical point for hiring: decide, write it in the advert next to the rate, and do not leave it to be negotiated. Roles that state both fill measurably faster than roles that state neither, because the people who would have withdrawn never applied.
What this changes about your advert
Both decisions produce a line in the advert, which is covered in more detail in writing a job advert that gets answered. The short version is that stating a constraint costs you the candidates it would have excluded anyway, and earns trust from everyone else.