The UK Government has recently tightened both the salary requirements and the method of calculating salary under the Skilled Worker route and the Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker route. Even relatively small errors in how a sponsor structures pay can now result in refusal of an application, refusal of an extension or risks to the sponsor licence, so it is essential to understand which elements of pay are included, which are excluded, and what the minimum salary requirements are under each route.

Skilled Worker salary: What counts towards the Skilled Worker salary requirement?

Under the Skilled Worker route, the basic principle is that only guaranteed gross basic pay counts towards the salary requirement. This means a salary that is clearly stated in the employment contract, paid at a fixed rate on a regular basis as shown on payslips, and subject to income tax, employee National Insurance and employee pension contributions. In practice, only the basic salary and any other genuinely guaranteed, fixed cash payments of the same nature can be included when assessing whether the Skilled Worker salary requirement is met.

When calculating whether the salary meets the rules, the Home Office will only take into account pay for up to 48 paid hours per week. Even if the worker in fact works more than 48 hours, any additional pay for those extra hours cannot be used to meet the salary requirement. It is therefore not acceptable under the immigration rules to rely on very long working hours to reach the required annual figure: sponsors must instead set an appropriate hourly rate and reasonable weekly hours so that the salary meets the rules without exceeding the 48‑hour cap.

Which types of payments are excluded from the Skilled Worker salary calculation?

For Skilled Worker purposes, only the fixed basic pay specified in the contract is treated as eligible salary. Variable payments such as overtime, evening, night or weekend premium, shift allowance, and performance‑related bonuses, commission or incentive payments do not count towards the salary requirement. Employer’s National Insurance and employer pension contributions are also excluded, as are allowances such as accommodation, cost of living or relocation allowances, and all non‑cash benefits, including share options, a company car, private medical insurance, school fees or meal vouchers. One‑off payments such as “golden hello” or sign‑on bonuses cannot be relied upon to meet the salary threshold either.

Reimbursed expenses, including visa application fees, the Immigration Health Surcharge, removal costs and equipment costs, are not treated as salary for immigration purposes. Where large deductions are made from pay – for example, to repay a company loan or training fees – the worker’s nominal gross salary may exceed the threshold, but the actual remuneration they receive may fall below the level the Home Office expects. Sponsors should therefore design a simple and transparent salary structure at the stage of assigning the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) and issuing the employment contract, based on a clear understanding of which elements qualify as salary under the immigration rules.

What is the general minimum salary requirement under the Skilled Worker route?

The Skilled Worker route applies a dual test: the worker must meet both the general salary threshold for the route and the going rate for the relevant SOC 2020 occupation code. Following the recent changes, the general threshold has been significantly increased, so new Skilled Worker applicants are now required to earn a much higher salary than under the previous regime.

By contrast, certain existing Skilled Workers who first obtained permission under the old rules can, for a limited transitional period, extend, change employer or apply for settlement on the basis of a lower transitional salary threshold. However, these transitional thresholds are being uprated over time, and policy is clearly moving towards convergence with the new standard general threshold.

The going rate is an occupation‑specific benchmark based on UK median earnings and other labour market data for each SOC code. The Home Office will always compare the proposed salary with both the general salary threshold and the going rate and will expect the worker to be paid at least whichever of the two is higher. With recent increases to the hourly floors attached to many codes, sponsors now need to ensure that the annual salary, hourly rate and contracted weekly hours all align to satisfy the salary rules in practice.

How are the Skilled Worker salary rules applied to New Entrants?

“New Entrant” status is available to certain early‑career applicants, such as those under 26, recent UK graduates and some applicants switching from specified study or graduate routes. To attract and retain early‑career talent, New Entrants can benefit from a reduced general salary threshold and may be paid a specified percentage of the going rate, but they must still meet a minimum discounted annual salary as well as the required percentage of the going rate for their occupation.

New Entrant status is time‑limited, usually to a maximum of four years’ permission in total under the Skilled Worker route. After this period, the worker must meet the full “experienced” Skilled Worker salary requirement. The same minimum hourly rate and 48‑hour cap apply to New Entrants, so simply setting the annual figure at the discounted level is not sufficient if the underlying hourly rate or pattern of hours does not meet the rules. Sponsors should therefore consider the applicant’s age, qualification route, likely length of stay and long‑term plan for extensions and settlement when deciding whether to rely on New Entrant salary discounts or to structure the salary at the experienced‑worker level from the outset.

How is salary assessed under the Senior or Specialist Worker route?

The Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker route is used for senior managers and specialist employees being assigned from an overseas group company to a linked entity in the UK. The basic principles for assessing salary mirror those for Skilled Workers: only guaranteed gross basic pay counts towards the salary requirement, and overtime, allowances, bonuses and benefits in kind are excluded. Under the Skilled Worker route, the Home Office normally only counts pay for up to 48 paid hours per week when assessing whether the salary requirement is met.

However, the general salary threshold and going rates under the Senior or Specialist Worker route are set significantly higher than under the Skilled Worker route, reflecting the seniority and specialist nature of the roles. In practice, many assignees are remunerated through complex global reward packages which include performance‑related pay, equity and various allowances, but for immigration purposes, the Home Office will look primarily at the basic salary specified in the UK employment contract. Employers planning Senior or Specialist Worker assignments should therefore review their global mobility policies alongside the immigration rules and, where necessary, adjust the UK basic salary or overall structure to ensure compliance.

What is the minimum salary requirement for the Senior or Specialist Worker route?

The general salary threshold under the Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Worker route has recently been increased and now sits significantly above the Skilled Worker general threshold. Applicants must be paid at least this general threshold and at least 100% of the going rate for their SOC code, with the higher of the two effectively operating as the minimum salary for the role. For some management and specialist codes, the going rate itself is already very high, which means that the practical minimum salary for immigration purposes can be substantially above the headline general threshold.

The same rules on minimum hourly rates, the 48‑hour cap and the exclusion of non‑salary elements apply, so it is particularly important that secondment or assignment agreements, global reward documentation and UK employment contracts are aligned and do not contradict one another on pay and benefits.

What salary must be paid at the ILR stage under the Skilled Worker route?

After five years on the Skilled Worker route, applicants for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) must satisfy the current Skilled Worker salary rules at the date of application. Continuing to be paid at the same level as at the initial grant will not necessarily be sufficient if, in the meantime, the general salary threshold or the going rate for the occupation has increased. The Government has introduced transitional salary thresholds so that some longer‑standing Skilled Workers can still qualify for ILR without immediately meeting the full new thresholds, but these transitional arrangements are intended to be temporary and are being uprated over time.

Home Office will look not only at the most recent payslips but also at whether the worker has been paid at or above the required level for a sustained period, and whether the information on the CoS, employment contract, payslips and bank statements is consistent. Artificial pay rises shortly before ILR, followed by reductions, or paper increases not matched by actual payment, can undermine credibility and lead to refusal. Sponsors and workers should therefore plan salary progression from the outset so that each extension and the final ILR application can be supported by a clear, compliant pay history.

Salary requirements for Skilled Workers, New Entrants and Global Business Mobility – Senior or Specialist Workers have become progressively higher and more complex in recent years, and further adjustments remain possible as economic and policy priorities evolve. Rather than focusing only on getting the next grant of leave over the line, sponsors and workers should design salary structures as part of a medium‑ to long‑term strategy that covers extensions and eventual settlement.

If you would like tailored advice on structuring salary for a particular role or candidate, CoS drafting, use of the New Entrant provisions, planning a Senior or Specialist Worker assignment or preparing for ILR, please leave us a message or contact us on 020 3865 6219 so that we can review your specific circumstances.