Click HERE to see exclusions
This assessment tool applies to salary assessments for roles listed in Tables 1, 1a, 2, 2aa, 2a, and 2b of Appendix Skilled Occupations. It does not apply to health and education occupation codes where going rates are based on national pay scales, listed in Tables 3 and 3a, or healthcare occupation codes listed in Table 4, or education codes listed in Table 5. (SOC code 6131 is not contained in the tables listed.) SOC 2020 codes 6135 and 6136
Certain SOC 2020 codes are eligible to be Health and Care ASHE salary jobs as defined in SW A1.1. of Appendix Skilled Worker, namely: 1171 Health services and public health managers and directors; 1231 Health care practice managers; 1232 Residential, day and domiciliary care managers and proprietors; 2113 Biochemists and biomedical scientists; 2114 Physical scientists; 3111 Laboratory technicians; 3211 Dispensing opticians; 3212 Pharmaceutical technicians; 6135 Care workers and home carers; and 6136 Senior care workers. Roles which are Health and Care ASHE salary jobs as defined in SW A1.1. are subject to lower salary minima which this assessment tool does not model.
6135 Care workers and home carers (Community support workers, Home care workers, Residential care workers, Care workers and home carers not elsewhere classified) and 6136 Senior care workers (Senior community support workers, Senior home care workers, Senior residential care workers, Senior care workers not elsewhere classified) are subject to special rules and these codes are excluded from this assessment tool.
This assessment tool does not cover the special rules in SW 14.5.(c) of Appendix Skilled Worker applying to those sponsored as Tier 2 (General) migrants under the rules in place before 1 December 2020, in the following SOC 2010 occupation codes: 2113 Physical scientists, 2119 Natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified and 2311 Higher education teaching professionals.
Where a Skilled Worker applicant was last granted permission for a job that was listed on the Immigration Salary List (or before that the Shortage Occupation List) at the time their Certificate of Sponsorship was assigned, they may continue to use points option D or points option I, provided they are continuing to work in the same job (allowing any changes which would not have made a difference to whether the job was on the list) and for the same sponsor. This salary assessment tool does not model the behaviour of such SOC 2020 codes, and will only allow use of points option D or I for roles currently listed on the Immigration Salary List.
Double click the little 'i' icon for explanatory details.
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The total weekly hours of work must be stated on the Certificate of Sponsorship.
When a sponsor assigns a Certificate of Sponsorship to a worker, they must specify the 4-digit occupation code (also known as the ‘standard occupational classification (SOC)’ code) relevant to the job. The current applicable system for Skilled Worker is SOC 2020. For more information see Home Office guidance, Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors, Part 2.
The sponsor is responsible for choosing the correct occupation code. Detailed
guidance is available on the Office for National Statistics website. The University of Warwick has also developed a Computer Assisted Structured Coding Tool (CASCOT) which can help sponsors choose the correct SOC 2020 code.
Prior to 4 April 2024, the UK work sponsorship system used the SOC 2010 classification system. For codes covered by this assessment tool, precursor SOC 2010 codes together with their successor SOC 2020 codes can be found from Tables 2, 2aa and 2a of Appendix Skilled Occupations.
The total salary payable for the role must be stated on the Certificate of Sponsorship. For Skilled Worker, salary only includes guaranteed basic gross pay (before income tax and including employee pension and national insurance contributions) and other guaranteed payments which are treated the same as basic gross pay for tax, pension and national insurance purposes. Salary does not include other pay and benefits, including pay which cannot be guaranteed, additional pay such as shift, overtime or bonus pay whether or not guaranteed, employer pension and employer national insurance contributions, allowances, in-kind benefits, one-off payments, payments relating to immigration costs or to cover business expenses.
Special rules apply where the worker was first granted permission as a Tier 2 (General) migrant under the rules before 1 December 2020 and has held continuous permission in the Tier 2 (General) / Skilled Worker category since then.
Where the Skilled Worker pays money to the sponsor, whether by way of deductions from salary, repayments of loan or investment, there may be a reduction to the salary that can be considered in meeting the minimum salary requirement. Specialist advice should be obtained in these cases.
The date the worker was assigned their first Certificate of Sponsorship in the Skilled Worker category, where the corresponding application was granted and they have held continuous permission as a Skilled Worker since then. Note that this will be earlier than the first date of the first Skilled Worker visa. Different rules apply depending on whether this entry date is before 4 April 2024, from 5 April 2024 to 21 July 2025 inclusive, or 22 July 2025 onwards. Skilled Worker status includes status as a Tier 2 (General) migrant under the rules in force before 1 December 2020.
A new entrant discount on the minimum salary requirement will apply if the worker meets [at least] one of these requirements:
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they will be aged under 26 on their date of their Skilled Worker application, or
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their most recent permission was as a Graduate visa holder (disregarding entry as a visitor) which expired within the last two years before the date of application, or
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their most recent permission was as a Student visa holder (disregarding entry as a visitor) which expired within the last two years before the date of application, and that visa was for graduate level study or above, and they have completed the course or are expecting to complete it within three months [or they are a PhD student and have completed at least 12 months study in the UK], or
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the job is in a regulated profession, and the worker is working towards a recognised UK professional qualification in that profession, or
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the worker is working towards full registration or chartered status with the relevant professional body for the job for which they are being sponsored, or
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the job is a postdoctoral position in one of the following SOC 2020 codes: 2111 Chemical scientists, 2112 Biological scientists, 2113 Biochemists and biomedical scientists, 2114 Physical scientists, 2115 Social and humanities scientists, 2119 Natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified, 2162 Other researchers, unspecified discipline, or 2311 Higher education teaching professionals.
A worker cannot rely upon the new entrant discount for more than four years in total, and time spent in the Graduate visa will count towards this allowance.
This field is only relevant if the worker has a PhD in a subject relevant to the job. This results in a discount in the minimum salary requirement, and an additional discount if the PhD is in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) subject. The sponsor must provide a credible explanation that the PhD is in a subject relevant to the job being sponsored, and if relevant that the qualification is in a STEM subject.