Action Points for Sponsor Licence Holders Before the Increase in the Minimum Salary Threshold Comes into Force on 4 April 2024
If you are an HR director responsible for recruitment and people management in a London or South East SME you may be questioning how on earth you can recruit suitable skilled overseas staff after 4 April.
In this blog, our Immigration Solicitors look at the impact of the latest March 2024 statement of changes in immigration rules and the increase in the minimum salary threshold for the Skilled Worker Visa applicant. We also highlight some potential action points for sponsoring employers.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For immigration and employment law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
The minimum salary threshold increases on 4 April 2024
If a Skilled Worker Visa application is filed on or after 4 April 2024 the increased minimum salary threshold will apply unless the visa applicant falls within an exception.
UK business owners have only had a matter of months to prepare and plan for the massive increase in the minimum salary threshold for overseas recruits on Work Visas, having spent the years since Brexit working out how to navigate the UK points-based immigration system and the government‘s Work Visa designed to encourage skilled workers to bring their talent and skills to the UK.
It is therefore understandable that many HR directors and small business owners are expressing their understandable frustrations to their Sponsorship Licence Lawyers. Although we are several years on from Brexit many UK employers still cannot match the available talent pool in the UK to the skilled and specialist jobs they are struggling to fill, even working within the current Skilled Worker Visa eligibility criteria.
The statement of changes to the immigration rules means that from 4 April:
- The general salary threshold for Skilled Worker Visas will increase from £26,200 to £38,700 unless the applicant is applying for a visa as a new entrant or the application is covered by the transitional arrangements
- The going rate threshold (unless the application falls within specified Health and Care Worker Visa roles) will increase from the 25th percentile to the 50th percentile of the median full-time 2023 salary for an equivalent job
The immigration rules continue to say that the sponsoring employer must pay the Skilled Worker Visa applicant the higher of the general salary threshold or the going rate. That means, with the concurrent increase in the minimum salary threshold and the going rate, many more jobs with a standard occupational classification code will need to pay a salary of more than £38,700 gross.
The immigration salary list
If the changes to the minimum salary threshold and the going rate were not enough, the 4 April also heralds the introduction of the immigration salary list. This replaces the shortage occupation list.
The name change is not just a case of semantics.
The Home Office has broadly followed the recommendations of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) after it conducted a rapid review into which jobs should be included on the new immigration salary list.
The MAC has culled the list to around 23 job types with corresponding standard occupational classification codes. Jobs have been taken off the list in part because of the decision to stop the 20% minimum salary threshold discount for a job in a shortage occupation.
The MAC took the view that there is little merit in adding or keeping jobs to a list when sponsoring employers will get no benefit from the role being on the list because of the increase in the minimum salary threshold and the going rate and the lack of shortage occupation list discount for most Skilled Worker Visa jobs.
Sponsoring employers need to be aware that if they are recruiting to fill a post with a Skilled Worker Visa applicant and the job (and corresponding standard occupational classification code) appears on the immigration salary list then the minimum salary threshold is £30,960 or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher.
For the adult healthcare sector, things are not quite so bleak. The minimum salary for health and care worker roles is set at £23,200 or the going rate for that role, whichever is higher.
If your business is recruiting to fill a role that does not appear on the immigration salary list the minimum salary threshold is £38,700 for most Skilled Worker Visa applicants or £29,000 if the recruit is applying for a health and care worker role unless the going rate for the job is set higher than the relevant minimum salary threshold.
Recruit Skilled Worker Visa applicants before 4 April
A key action point is to bring forward the recruitment of any Skilled Worker Visa applicants that you are planning to recruit in the next few months.
Why? If you sponsor a Skilled Worker Visa applicant before 4 April you do not have to increase their salary on 4 April. However, if you recruit a person who is in the UK on a Skilled Worker Visa or is switching to the Skilled Worker Visa route and you do so on or after 4 April you will need to pay them the new minimum salary threshold or going rate, whichever is the higher. This is the case even though the Skilled Worker Visa holder was already in the UK before 4 April as they were either working for a different sponsoring employer or were in the UK on a Graduate Visa or Family Visa etc. Applications by current sponsored employees to extend permission will also be subject to the new salary rules.
Scrabble to find overseas job applicants who qualify as new entrants
If a Skilled Worker Visa applicant qualifies as a new entrant your business can pay them a discounted salary whether you recruit them before or after 4 April. It is still preferable to recruit a new entrant before 4 April where possible to take advantage of the lower minimum salary threshold or going rate.
Some sponsoring employers have never previously focussed on recruiting new entrants and so are not over familiar with the definition of a new entrant and the salary discount applicable to the different types of new entrants. Our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers are happy to talk you through new entrant eligibility criteria so you can plan your skilled migrant recruitment after considering the forthcoming changes to the immigration rules.
Other action points for sponsor licence holders
Our Business Immigration Solicitors highlight that you may wish to consider:
- The immigration status of your current workforce
- If you employ staff on the Graduate Visa and you hope to continue their employment through sponsorship then consider if they should be encouraged to switch to the Skilled Worker Visa before 4 April
- If you employ workers on non-Work Visas you may need to consider if the employees want to switch to a Skilled Worker Visa. For example, a person on a Spouse Visa may be ending their relationship with their spouse and need sponsored employment to stay in the UK. For example, a person working for your business on a Dependant Visa may prefer to be in the UK on a Skilled Worker Visa so their immigration status and right to stay in the UK is not contingent on the main visa holder. If any employees want to switch to the Skilled Worker Visa route it is preferable for the business that they do so before 4 April
If you want to discuss how the immigration rule changes may affect your business then our Sponsorship Licence Lawyers are here to help you navigate the new rules and transitional changes.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Sponsorship Licence Lawyers
For immigration and employment law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
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