In April 2024, the Home Office replaced the Shortage Occupation List with the new Immigration Salary List. How does this change affect salary thresholds and discounts for the Skilled Worker visa?
At the end of 2023, the Home Secretary announced that the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) would be replaced with the Immigration Salary List (ISL) for Skilled Worker visas in April 2024, as part of an effort to cut net migration.
If a job is on the new Immigration Salary List, an application under the Skilled Worker route can be made even if the salary is below the full general salary requirement of £38,700. Occupations on the ISL may benefit from a 20% discount on the general threshold, which is then reduced to £30,960, as long as the salary remains above or in line with the level of the occupation-specfic threshold. Employers will need to pay their employees £30,960 per annum or the occupation-specific threshold figure, whichever is higher. Occupations eligible for a Health and Care Worker visa on the ISL are subject to the £29,000 general salary threshold, which can be further reduced to a minimum of £23,200, depending on the occupation-specific threshold.
The new list no longer allows for a 20% discount on the occupation-specific threshold. This is meant to prevent employers undercutting domestic workers and exploiting migrants. Occupations on the ISL still need to be paid at least at the "going rate" level, which means that the actual salary discount may be less than 20% of the general threshold. However, in some cases it is still possible to have a discount on the "going-rate" for certain PhD-level positions, with 20% for STEM and 10% for other eligible specialisations. Furthermore, a discount of 30% may be applicable when hiring employees aged under 26 and graduates or individuals who are at the start of their career, as long as their salary remains above the £30,960 minimum. Employees who have obtained their Skilled Worker visas before these changes will be exempt from them.
While some roles on the SOL have been transferred to the ISL, many occupations such as specific tech-related roles have been removed. The ISL is intended to make it easier for employers to recruit for certain positions. In contrast, the meaning behind the Shortage Occupation List was not to target skilled occupations experiencing labour shortages, but rather to offer a list of occupations where the Government considered it "sensible to offer a discounted salary threshold". The occupations on the ISL are reviewed and updated regularly.
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