This month has seen Further Details of the UK’s new Points-Based Immigration System published.
This month has seen Further Details of the UK’s new Points-Based Immigration System published. This follows the Government’s policy statement issued in February of this year setting out the proposals for a single, global immigration system. By way of a recap, these include three non-negotiable criteria: the offer of a job by an approved sponsor, a job at an appropriate skills level, and an ability to speak English to the required level, together amounting to 50 of the 70 required points. Successful migrants will then need to secure an additional 20 points under the points-based system. These points can be based on their salary, a job in a shortage occupation, and/or PhD qualifications which are relevant to the job. Further information about the previous policy statement can be found in our February update here.
The Further Details now published provide greater information as to how the proposed points-based system will work and include details for a variety of immigration routes. A copy of the Further Details can be found here but we set out below some of the key points in respect of the proposed route for skilled workers.
As set out previously, in terms of the level of skill required, the Government has indicated that this will be reduced from RQF6 (for example, Bachelor’s Degree or Graduate Diploma) to RQF3 (for example, A-level or International Baccalaureate). The new report confirms that occupations will be grouped according to the codes taken from the SOC 2010 system, developed by the Office of National Statistics. It is the duties and responsibilities of the job that are important, not the precise job title used.
Once an employer has identified the most appropriate occupation code (and care will need to be taken in respect of this as some jobs which are similar have different applicable codes), it will then need to check whether this is an eligible code or not. There are tables included within the Further Details for those roles which are eligible and those which are not; again, employers will need to check these lists carefully as there are some ineligible roles included which might commonly be thought of as being “skilled”.
There is no cap on the number of skilled migrants who can come to the UK under the new system.
The language level is based upon the Common European Framework of Reference for languages. For skilled workers, they will need to be able to demonstrate their ability at level B1 (an intermediate level).
Language ability can be demonstrated in a variety of ways, including being a national of a majority English speaking country, having an academic degree taught in English or passing a secure English language test.
There is an absolute minimum salary of £20,480 that will always need to be met. This threshold is higher than both the annual National Living Wage earnings, and the annual Living Wage earnings (outside of London), based on a 40-hour working week.
However, to earn points for salary, an individual will need to earn more than this. The precise amount that they need to earn will depend upon the “going rate” for their particular occupation. The Further Details includes the going rates for the various eligible occupation codes (although it does stress that these may be subject to change before the launch in January 2021).
To earn the maximum 20 points, most individuals will need to be paid the higher of the going rate for their role and £25,600. There is a reduced salary threshold in place for new entrants to be able to earn 20 points (but the £20,480 minimum must still be met).
For roles within the public health and education sectors, the going rate is replaced by national pay scales; these individuals will need to be paid at the applicable national pay scale (and more than £20,480) to score the maximum 20 points (save for a temporary exception for nurses and midwives prior to achieving their full UK registration). They do not need to also meet the £25,600 salary threshold.
If the applicable salary threshold is not met for the 20 points, there is still scope for the individual to score 10 points by being paid the higher of at least 90% of the going rate and £23,040.
It is important to note that the going rate levels are based on a 39-hour working week and should be adjusted to reflect actual working hours as these rates are intended to allow for fair pay compared to resident workers. The general salary thresholds (£20,480, £23,040 and £25,600) however, are a measure of the “economic contribution” the applicant will make to the UK and cannot be pro-rated, regardless of the hours worked.
PhD points can only be earned where the PhD is relevant to the job. It will be for the employer to decide whether the PhD is relevant but it will need to be able to justify the decision. Points will be withheld where the explanation is not “credible”, and only academic PhDs will count.
In addition, only certain occupations can score points for relevant PhDs. The Further Details set out which occupations can claim PhD points but this list will be kept under review. Again, employers/applicants who wish to rely on PhD points will need to check the list carefully at the relevant time.
20 points are allocated for a relevant PhD in a STEM subject; 10 points are allocated for all other relevant academic PhDs. However, these points can only be earned where the individual’s salary is still above £20,480.
There is very little additional information included in the Further Details about shortage occupations. As set out in the policy statement, it will be based upon those occupations designated as shortage occupations by the Migration Advisory Committee. 20 points are allocated to shortage occupations. Again, these points can only be earned by someone whose salary is above £20,480.
The Shortage Occupation List at Appendix K of the Immigration Rules only covers roles at RFQ6 and above. The Government has therefore asked the MAC to compile a list of shortage occupations for roles RQF3 to RQF5, and to consider whether any amendments are required to the existing list. The MAC has been asked to complete this by the end of September.
Yes. Those seeking entry can be refused where:
The Further Details include information on application fees but this is expressed to be “indicative” only. There is a range which will apply to skilled workers depending upon the length of the application, where it is made and whether the role is within a shortage occupation. By way of example only, the indicative fee applying in-country for a non-shortage occupation role for up to three years is £704.
There will be a separate Health and Care Visa route for those working in eligible health occupations with a job offer from the NHS, social care sector or employers and organisations providing services to the NHS. Reduced application fees will apply and a fast-track process will be in place. They will also not have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (see below).
The Immigration Skills Charge will continue to apply in a similar way as currently, but extended to cover EU, EEA and Swiss nationals. The current rates, where discounts do not apply, are £1,000 per skilled worker for the first year, then £500 for each subsequent six-month period.
A sponsorship requirement will apply to the skilled worker route. In addition to undergoing certain checks, sponsors must pay a licence fee. The amount of the sponsor licence fee will depend upon the size of the employer – for example, for medium and large businesses, the licence fee is £1,476. The standard time for processing sponsor applications is usually 8 weeks.
Applicants will have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge where they are coming to the UK for more than 6 months to enable them to access NHS services. A new discounted rate for those under 18 is being introduced but further details are awaited in respect of the same. The current Surcharge for all visa and immigration applications save for students and Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) is £400 per year.
Skilled workers will also need to be able to demonstrate that they have sufficient funds to support themselves and their families (referred to as “maintenance”). They will be exempt from this if they have a sponsor who can provide the maintenance cost if they need it; sponsors will need to confirm this on the Certificate of Sponsorship. Further details in respect of maintenance are to be published in Autumn.
Official statistics show that 15,336 claims which included a complaint of age discrimination were received at the Employment Tribunals between March 2020 and March 2021.
The outcome of the Employment Tribunal claim brought by Gulnaz Raja against Starling Bank Limited (1) (Starling), and Matthew Newman (2) was reported last month.
In the Autumn Statement delivered on 17 November, rises to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates were announced, to take effect from 1 April 2023.
The World Cup kicks off in Qatar on Sunday 20 November 2022, with the final taking place on Sunday 18 December 2022. Undoubtedly, this is a huge sporting event, and many employees will be keen to show their support for their favourite teams. However, due to the time difference, start times for the matches are between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. UK time, which could have an impact on employers if employees who wish to watch the matches are scheduled to work.
Settlement agreements are commonplace in an employment context and are ordinarily used to provide the parties to the agreement with certainty following the conclusion of an employment relationship.
Where an employee appeals against their dismissal under a contractual appeal procedure and their appeal is successful, reinstatement to their previous role is automatic and does not require approval or agreement from the employee.
Settlement agreements in an employment context are ordinarily used to provide both parties with certainty following the conclusion of an employment relationship – but what happens when there is alleged discrimination after entering into a settlement agreement?
A few weeks ago we brought you news that following the Government’s mini-budget it was confirmed that the off-payroll working rules (known as “IR35”) put in place for public and private sector businesses from 2017 and 2021 would be scrapped from April 2023.
In Mogane v Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered whether it was fair to dismiss a nurse as redundant on the basis that that her fixed-term contract was due to expire before that of her colleague.
The majority of people do not feel the need to embellish their CV to get that coveted position and move on up the career ladder. Their worthiness and benefit to the hiring organisation are easily demonstrated through the recruitment process – application, psychometric testing, selection day or interview.
In July 2022, the Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited Judgement in the case of Harpur Trust v Brazel relating to the correct calculation of statutory holiday pay for part year workers. This decision has implications for all part year workers on contracts which subsist all year round, whether their hours are normal or irregular.
The Government has announced a change to the categorisation of “small” businesses to reduce the amount of regulatory compliance (or “red tape”) required. Currently, SMEs (those with fewer than 250 employees) are exempt from certain regulations – such as the obligation to comply with gender pay reporting. With effect from 3 October, these exemptions will be widened to apply to businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
In University of Dundee v Chakraborty, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered whether a first draft of a grievance report could retrospectively be deemed to be privileged.
The Chancellor’s recent mini-budget provided a significant announcement for business as it was confirmed that the off-payroll working rules (known as “IR35”) put in place for public and private sector businesses from 2017 and 2021 will be scrapped from April 2023.
The Government has published the Retained EU Revocation and Reform Bill which, if passed, provides for the revocation of all “EU-derived subordinate legislation” (i.e. UK statutory instruments which were introduced to implement EU law) and retained direct EU legislation on 31 December 2023, unless legislation is specifically introduced to save them.
On 20 July 2022, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited judgment in the case of Harpur Trust v Brazel, upholding the decision of the Court of Appeal. For those of you familiar with this case, you will know that it concerns the statutory leave requirements for part-time and part-year workers. For schools and academies whose workforce consists of a variety of types of part-time and part-year workers, this case is one that must be understood before any changes are applied. Come and join Emma Hughes, Head of HR Services as she puts questions to Ian Deakin, Employment Partner, and Sarah Linden, Senior Associate.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal’s recent decision in the case of Mr Michael Cowie & Others v Scottish Fire and Rescue Service provides a useful insight into favourable - or unfavourable - treatment in the context of discrimination claims.
This month, HM Treasury issued a consultation on Administrative Control Process for Public Sector Exits with draft guidance. They’re proposing to introduce an expanded approvals process for employee exits and special severance payments, and additional reporting requirements. If approved, the proposals will impact public sector bodies and those that do not have a specific right to make exit payments.
In Wierowska v HC-One Oval Limited, the Employment Tribunal had to determine whether the Claimant’s beliefs in relation to Covid-19 vaccines amounted to religious beliefs for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.
Janice Walsh applied for a job with Domino’s Pizza, hoping to secure a role as a Delivery Driver. However things quickly took a turn for the worse during her initial interview, with the very first question that she was asked relating to her age. Ms Walsh was ultimately informed that she had not been successful in her application.
As of 21 July, two separate pieces of legislation came into force which seeks to mitigate against strike action. It should come as no surprise that this is a direct response to the rail strikes, which have dominated the news in the last couple of months.
The Government has referred to the greater “clarity” provided by the Supreme Court’s decision in Uber BV and others v Aslam and others, considering it appropriate to allow the impact of this decision to take effect, before considering further intervention.
The Supreme Court has now issued its long-awaited judgment in the case of Harpur Trust v Brazel, upholding the decision of the Court of Appeal.
The new sponsored Global Mobility route aims to meet the needs of overseas businesses with no previous trading presence in the UK to expand into the UK by providing a specific immigration route for senior employees to come here to set up a UK subsidiary or branch.
In the recent case of Dwyer (UK Franchising) Limited v Fredbar Limited and ano’r [2022] EWCA Civ 889, the Court of Appeal considered the reasonableness of restrictive covenants in a franchise agreement.
