Skilled Worker salary threshold checker: going rate and minimum salary
Check a salary against the general threshold and the going rate for the role, including the new entrant, PhD and Immigration Salary List options and the lower rates for workers sponsored before April 2024.
We’ll check the salary against the fixed threshold and the going rate, show which one decides the minimum, and
how far above or below it you are.
In short
What is the minimum salary for a Skilled Worker visa?
For most new hires, the minimum is the higher of two figures: £41,700 a year, or the going rate for the occupation code, adjusted for the hours worked.
Some workers can be paid less. New entrants, postdocs, workers with a relevant PhD and jobs on the Immigration Salary List have a lower fixed floor (£33,400, or £37,500 for a non-STEM PhD), and all but the Salary List need only 70% to 90% of the going rate. Health and education jobs on national pay scales need £25,000 or the scale rate.
Figures checked against GOV.UK on .
How it works
The two salary tests
The general threshold and the going rate
A salary has to pass both tests, so whichever gives the higher figure decides the minimum. The checker shows which one that is. Not sure of the code? Find it with the role checker.
The general threshold is a fixed amount: £41,700 a year for most hires. It isn’t reduced for part-time work.
The going rate is set for each occupation code in Appendix Skilled Occupations, for a 37.5-hour week. It’s adjusted up or down for the hours the worker actually does.
There’s no separate hourly minimum. The “per hour” figures in the appendix are the yearly rates divided by 37.5 hours and 52 weeks, though the job must still pay at least the National Minimum Wage.
Lower rates for some workers
The salary options, and what each one changes
Option
Fixed floor
Share of the going rate
None of these (standard)
£41,700
100%
Job on the Immigration Salary List
£33,400
100%
New entrant
£33,400
70%
Postdoctoral position (8 science and higher education codes)
£33,400
70%
PhD relevant to the job
£37,500
90%
STEM PhD relevant to the job
£33,400
80%
A new entrant is someone under 26 when they apply, someone switching from a Student or Graduate visa, or someone working towards a recognised professional qualification or registration. The new entrant and postdoc rates can be used for up to 4 years in total, including time on a Graduate visa.
The PhD rates only apply to codes the appendix marks as eligible for PhD points, and the postdoc rate only to codes 2111, 2112, 2113, 2114, 2115, 2119, 2162, 2311. GOV.UK publishes the 90%, 80% and 70% figures rounded to the nearest £100, and the checker uses those published figures.
Workers first sponsored before 4 April 2024
A worker who got their first certificate of sponsorship before 4 April 2024, and has held Skilled Worker permission since, can extend or change jobs on lower rates until 4 April 2030. The minimum is £31,300 or the lower going rate for the code, whichever is higher.
The discounts apply to the lower going rate too, with floors of £25,000 (new entrant, postdoc, STEM PhD and Immigration Salary List) and £28,200 (other PhD). Tick the box in the checker to use these rates.
Health and social care employers
The same lower rates apply to any worker, not just those sponsored before April 2024, in 10 health and care codes (1171, 1231, 1232, 2113, 2114, 3111, 3211, 3212, 6135, 6136) when the employer is the NHS, a CQC-registered provider of regulated activities, or a similar health or social care body in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
So a care worker (6135) needs £31,300, or £25,000 if the job is on the Immigration Salary List. Care worker roles are closed to recruitment from overseas, so this only helps workers already in the UK.
Health and education jobs
Some healthcare and teaching codes, such as nurses, doctors and school teachers, have going rates set by national pay scales such as NHS Agenda for Change. The minimum is £25,000 or the pay scale rate for the band or role, whichever is higher, and the discounted options don’t apply. The checker tests the £25,000 floor and points you to the scales.
Worked example: a software developer
Code 2134, full time (37.5 hours), going rate £54,700
General threshold
£41,700
Going rate
£54,700
Minimum salary
£54,700: the going rate decides
At £48,000 the salary is £6,700 short. If the worker is a new entrant, the going rate test drops to the published 70% figure (£38,300) and the floor to £33,400, so £48,000 meets the minimum with £9,700 to spare. The checker does the same sums for any code and any hours.
Part-time roles
The going rate is pro-rated for the hours worked, but the general threshold isn’t. At 20 hours a week the going rate in the example falls to £29,173, but the minimum is still £41,700, so part-time sponsored roles need a high hourly rate.
Above 48 hours a week, only the pay for the first 48 hours counts towards the fixed threshold, while the full salary is checked against a going rate pro-rated on all the hours.
Guaranteed basic gross pay. Bonuses, overtime, commission and benefits such as accommodation don’t count.
Who counts as a new entrant?
Someone under 26 when they apply, someone switching from a Student or Graduate visa, or someone working towards a recognised professional qualification. The lower rate can be used for up to 4 years in total.
Is the threshold reduced for part-time work?
No. The going rate is adjusted for the hours worked, but the general threshold isn’t.
What if the worker does more than 48 hours a week?
Only the pay for the first 48 hours a week counts towards the fixed threshold. The going rate is pro-rated on all the hours worked, so very long hours make it harder to meet.
What is the Immigration Salary List?
A short list of occupation codes where the Home Office accepts a lower general threshold of £33,400. The worker must still be paid the full going rate for the code, and some entries only cover certain jobs or parts of the UK.
Can prison officers be sponsored?
Not from overseas. A prison officer (code 3314) already in the UK can switch to a Skilled Worker visa with a certificate assigned by 31 December 2026, or extend with one assigned by 31 December 2027, if paid at least £31,300 or the lower going rate, whichever is higher.
Do we have to keep paying the salary on the certificate?
Yes. The worker must be paid at least the salary on their Certificate of Sponsorship for as long as you sponsor them. Unpaid leave, reduced hours or deductions that take pay below it can be a breach of your sponsor duties.
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