Frequently Asked Questions

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◆ What is the salary assessment tool?

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The salary assessment tool receives data relating to a proposed UK work assignment on the Skilled Worker route, and it outputs information drawn from the UK immigration rules, namely whether the job satisfies the applicable salary minimum.

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The input data are: SOC 2020 code, the weekly working hours, the salary, the date the worker entered the Skilled Worker route, whether PhD points are being claimed and whether they will be a new entrant. Definitions and commentary on these terms, based on the immigration rules, can be accessed in the information icons.

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Important: The tool does not cover national-pay-scale roles or certain healthcare, education and care occupations. It does not determine whether the selected occupation code is correct.

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◆ Why is this useful?

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Salary calculations in the Skilled Worker route can be tricky. Once you have selected the right SOC code, you need to pro rata for the weekly working hours, apply transitional rules depending on when the worker first entered the route, consider the minimum hourly wage, apply PhD, new entrant and Immigration Salary List discounts, consider whether the role is within the Temporary Shortage List, and whether the work is governed by National Pay Scales.

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These steps involve consulting large tables of pay rates. There are hundreds of codes just across Tables 1 – 2 of Appendix Skilled Occupations, the Immigration Salary List and the Temporary Shortage List, each with multiple possible going rates.

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The salary assessment tool handles the routine work of looking up the code’s applicable pay rate, whether it is eligible for PhD points, whether it is in the Immigration Salary List, whether it is on the Temporary Shortage List, whether the worker benefits from transitional salary protections, and various other steps.

 

Rather than giving out numbers that might lack context to the uninitiated, the output of the tool is a plain English assessment of the minimum salary requirement the role needs to meet.

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◆ Who is it for?​

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This tool is aimed at anyone who is involved in sponsoring a Skilled Worker, and is puzzling over how the pay rates work. So you could be in HR, recruitment, legal teams, or you might be a worker yourself, checking whether a job offer satisfies the requirements. That is quite a few people; as of March 2026, there were an estimated 1.4 million people with time-limited permission in a UK sponsored work route.​

 

We have made it available to anyone who wants to use it. The answers entered into the assessment are not saved to a user profile.​

 

◆ What is the tool based on?

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The underlying logic of the tool is taken from the UK immigration rules, primarily Appendix Skilled Worker, with reference to Appendix Skilled Occupations and Appendix Immigration Salary List.

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◆ What other tools might I need?​

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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. 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.​

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The correct SOC code match is based on the best overall match with the written job description (which sponsors are required to hold on file for each sponsored worker), and which must correspond to the reality of the role.

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◆ Does it use generative AI?​

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No. The assessment is produced using deterministic, rules-based logic developed from the Immigration Rules. The same inputs will produce the same result. The decision logic was developed by our business immigration team and implemented with our technology team.

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◆ Why is it especially relevant now?​

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The UK immigration rules are subject to frequent change. Right now, the last major change was in July 2025, but most sponsored workers will be well aware of the possible imposition later this year of the earned settlement proposals which may increase the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to 10 years. (Those proposals do not alter the salary assessment performed by this tool, and the tool does not assess eligibility for settlement.)​

 

Right now, there are important effects operating on the Skilled Worker cohort.

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• First, the salary minima were increased in April 2024, from being broadly in line with the 25th percentile for pay per occupation, to being in line with the 50th percentile. Those who were sponsored in the Skilled Worker route under the rules in place before 4 April 2024 can still rely on the lower salary rates. But the transitional provisions only apply to applications submitted before 4 April 2030. In 2024 it was anticipated that a 6-year transitional provision would be sufficient. With earned settlement, this may not be enough.

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• Second, the July 2025 changes raised the minimum skill level for sponsorship, broadly from RQF3+ to RQF6+. Workers who entered the route under the rules in place before 22 July 2025 can continue in roles skilled at RQF3-5, and the earned settlement paper has suggested that they may be subject to a longer pathway to settlement, but still needing to meet salary minimum requirements.

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• Finally, there are those whose roles were classified as skilled to RQF level 3-5, but who entered under the rules in place from 22 July 2025 under Temporary Shortage List provisions. These workers are unable to sponsor family members and their future eligibility to remain in the UK is unclear.

 

These cohorts are all subject to different transitional rules, creating a confusing landscape for any sponsor. The salary assessment tool deals with these permutations.

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◆ Are there exclusions?

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The outputs of the tool are not legal advice, should not be relied upon as such and are not a guarantee that an application containing these fields will succeed. An online tool cannot by itself determine whether the occupation code is correct, the job is genuine, whether the sponsor complies with sponsor duties, or the outcome of an application.

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The tool applies to initial applications, extensions and Change of Employment applications. It does not cover applications for settlement.​

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Due to technical complications, it was necessary to exclude certain codes. The tool only works for 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, or to SOC codes 6131 (Nursing auxiliaries and assistants), 6135 (Care workers and home carers) or 6136 (Senior care workers).

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◆ Which rules is the tool based on?​

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The tool is based on the rules as at launch in September 2026.​

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◆ Who developed the tool?​

 

The tool was devised by Alex Finch, a partner in our business immigration team, and built by our IT team.​

A common example of a potentially fair reason is a genuine redundancy situation, such as a wider restructuring where the role is no longer required.

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