TL;DR: The Skilled Worker visa requires applicants to meet both a general salary threshold and an occupation-specific going rate. The higher of the two always applies. Pro-rata rules govern part-time roles, and only certain pay elements count towards the qualifying salary.
Introduction: Why the Going Rate Mechanism Matters
For employers sponsoring overseas workers on a Skilled Worker visa, the salary rules are not a single fixed figure — they are a layered system in which the going rates for individual occupations sit at the heart of compliance. Understanding how going rates interact with the general threshold, how part-time and non-standard arrangements are assessed, and precisely which pay components count towards the qualifying salary is essential for sponsors, HR teams, and prospective applicants alike.
The going rates are published by the Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) as a reference table aligned to SOC 2020 occupation codes — the Standard Occupational Classification codes that define each eligible role. Far from a simple pay floor, the going rate system creates occupation-specific minimum salaries that can vary significantly from one role to another, and which must be read alongside the overarching general threshold that applies to all Skilled Worker applications.
This technical guide sets out the full mechanism: how the two salary floors interact, how pro-rata calculations are applied for part-time and irregular working patterns, and which allowances and payments UKVI will — and will not — accept as qualifying salary.
What Are Skilled Worker Going Rates?
Going rates are the occupation-specific minimum annual salaries that a sponsor must pay a Skilled Worker visa holder in a given role, as determined by the worker’s SOC 2020 occupation code. Published by the Home Office, the going rates table sets an individual pay floor for each eligible occupation. Alongside the general salary threshold — currently £41,700 per year for most applicants — going rates create a two-tier salary floor system in which a sponsored worker must be paid whichever of the two figures is higher.
How the Going Rate and General Threshold Interact
The Two-Floor Principle
The Skilled Worker visa salary framework operates on a straightforward but often misunderstood principle: an applicant’s salary must meet both the general threshold and the occupation-specific going rate simultaneously. It is not a case of satisfying one or the other — the higher of the two figures is the effective minimum the sponsor must pay.
For the majority of roles, the general threshold — currently set at £41,700 per year for new applicants — will be the higher floor. However, for a significant number of professions — particularly highly specialised occupations in sectors such as financial services, engineering, or medicine — the going rate for that specific SOC 2020 occupation code exceeds £41,700 and therefore becomes the binding minimum.
Conversely, for certain shortage occupations or roles covered by specific tradeable points arrangements, the applicable salary floors may differ. Sponsors must always consult the official going rates table published on gov.uk and cross-reference it against the general threshold to establish the actual minimum for the role they are filling.
Checking the SOC 2020 Occupation Code
Accurate identification of the SOC 2020 occupation code for the sponsored role is a prerequisite for applying the going rate correctly. A coding error — for example, assigning a lower-rated SOC code when the duties clearly correspond to a higher-rated one — is a compliance risk that can result in a licence suspension or curtailment of the worker’s visa. According to the published guidance, the occupation code must genuinely reflect the main duties of the role, not merely the job title.
The Home Office states that sponsors must assign the occupation code that best reflects the actual duties of the position, not the title alone.
Once the correct code is confirmed, the corresponding going rate from the published table provides the occupation-specific pay floor against which the general threshold is compared.
How Pro-Rata Calculations Work for Part-Time and Non-Standard Hours
The Full-Time Equivalence Test
Both the general salary threshold and the going rates are expressed as annual full-time figures, typically based on a 37.5-hour working week. When a role is part-time or involves irregular hours, UKVI applies a pro-rata calculation to determine whether the actual pay offered meets the applicable salary floor.
The pro-rata method scales the requirement proportionally based on the contracted hours. If a sponsored worker is employed for 30 hours per week rather than 37.5 hours, the effective salary floor is calculated as:
Applicable annual floor × (contracted hours ÷ 37.5)
For example, if the applicable going rate for a given SOC 2020 code is £40,000 per year and the contracted hours are 30 per week, the pro-rata floor would be £40,000 × (30 ÷ 37.5) = £32,000. The sponsor must pay at least £32,000 to satisfy the going rate requirement for that part-time arrangement.
Irregular and Variable Hours
For roles with irregular or variable hours — such as zero-hours contracts or annualised hours arrangements — the calculation becomes more complex. According to UKVI guidance, the salary assessment for such roles is based on the guaranteed minimum hours, not on anticipated or averaged hours worked. Sponsors cannot rely on overtime or additional hours to bring the salary up to the applicable floor if those hours are not guaranteed in the contract.
This is a frequent compliance issue in sectors such as hospitality, social care, and healthcare, where variable-hours contracts are common. Sponsors in these sectors must ensure that the guaranteed contractual pay — assessed against guaranteed contracted hours — meets the pro-rata going rate requirement before assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS).
The 48-Hour Week Cap
Importantly, the pro-rata calculation does not scale indefinitely upwards. The published guidance specifies that hours above 48 per week are not taken into account when calculating salary against the going rate. This prevents a scenario in which unusually long contracted hours artificially inflate the annualised salary comparison.
Which Pay Elements Count Towards the Qualifying Salary?
Allowable Pay Components
Not all financial payments made to a worker count towards the qualifying salary for Skilled Worker purposes. The Home Office publishes a clear framework setting out which elements of remuneration are permissible.
The following pay components are accepted as part of qualifying salary:
- Basic gross salary — the core contractual pay before tax and National Insurance deductions.
- Allowances that are guaranteed, non-conditional, and form part of the employment contract — for example, a London weighting allowance or a contractually guaranteed role-specific allowance, provided it is paid in all circumstances and is not dependent on performance or discretion.
Pay Elements That Do Not Count
The following are explicitly excluded from the qualifying salary calculation:
- Overtime payments — whether guaranteed or otherwise.
- Shift premium payments — payments for working unsociable hours are not counted.
- Performance-related bonuses — discretionary or conditional bonuses, even if regularly paid in practice.
- Tips and gratuities — no element of customer gratuity counts towards the floor.
- Employer pension contributions — pension contributions, regardless of size, are excluded.
- Non-monetary benefits — accommodation, meals, or other in-kind benefits do not contribute to the qualifying salary.
According to the Home Office guidance, only guaranteed, unconditional elements of pay that appear in the employment contract may be included when assessing whether the going rate and general threshold are satisfied.
This distinction is particularly consequential in sectors such as finance, where bonuses can form a substantial portion of total remuneration, or in hospitality and retail, where tips and service charges are significant. In both cases, only the guaranteed basic pay and any qualifying unconditional allowances count.
Implications for Sponsors and Employers
Sponsors bear full legal responsibility for ensuring that the salary offered satisfies the applicable going rate before a Certificate of Sponsorship is assigned. A failure to apply the going rate correctly — whether through incorrect SOC 2020 coding, an improper pro-rata calculation, or inclusion of non-qualifying pay elements — constitutes a compliance breach and exposes the sponsor to UKVI enforcement action, including licence downgrade or revocation.
HR and payroll teams at sponsoring organisations should implement routine checks aligned to the published going rates table whenever a new Skilled Worker role is created or an existing sponsored worker’s terms change. Any mid-employment changes to working hours that affect the qualifying salary calculation must also be reviewed against the applicable going rate to ensure continued compliance throughout the worker’s visa period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What happens if the going rate for a role is lower than the general Skilled Worker threshold? A: The general threshold takes precedence. Sponsored workers must always be paid at least the higher of the two figures. If the going rate for a given SOC 2020 occupation code is, for example, £35,000 but the general threshold is £41,700, the sponsor must pay at least £41,700.
Q: Can a sponsor include a housing allowance in the qualifying salary calculation? A: Only if the allowance is guaranteed, unconditional, and set out in the employment contract. Discretionary or employer-discretion housing payments are not counted. Employer-provided accommodation itself does not count towards the salary floor under any circumstances.
Q: How is the going rate applied for a part-time Skilled Worker role? A: The going rate is scaled pro-rata based on contracted hours relative to a standard 37.5-hour week. The pro-rata floor must be met by the guaranteed contractual salary alone, without reliance on overtime or variable additional hours.
Q: Where can the SOC 2020 occupation codes and corresponding going rates be found? A: The official going rates table, organised by SOC 2020 occupation code, is published by the Home Office at gov.uk under the Skilled Worker visa eligible occupations reference.
Q: Do going rates change, and how frequently are they updated? A: The going rates are subject to revision by the Home Office, typically in response to changes in the Immigration Rules or recommendations from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). Sponsors should check the current published table before assigning any Certificate of Sponsorship to ensure they are using the most current figures.
Key Takeaways
- The qualifying salary for a Skilled Worker visa is the higher of the general salary threshold and the occupation-specific going rate for the assigned SOC 2020 code.
- Going rates vary by occupation and are published in a reference table by the Home Office; sponsors must use the correct SOC 2020 code that reflects the actual duties of the role.
- Part-time and irregular-hours roles are assessed using a pro-rata calculation based on contracted hours against a 37.5-hour standard week, capped at 48 hours.
- Only guaranteed, unconditional pay elements included in the employment contract count towards the qualifying salary; bonuses, overtime, tips, and employer pension contributions are all excluded.
- Sponsors hold full compliance responsibility and must verify the applicable going rate before assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship and whenever working terms change.
Conclusion
The going rates system is one of the most technically detailed aspects of the Skilled Worker visa framework. By understanding how going rates interact with the general salary threshold, how pro-rata rules scale requirements for part-time and variable-hours roles, and which pay components UKVI will accept as qualifying salary, sponsoring employers are better positioned to assign Certificates of Sponsorship accurately and remain compliant with their licence obligations. Sponsors and HR professionals are advised to consult the official going rates table published on gov.uk as the authoritative reference for all salary floor assessments.