Tier 2
restricted CoS
allocations back on track!

Breaking news: Following disastrously low allocations of restricted CoS for many UK employers in June and July, figures for August suggest that the situation may be improving.

The allocation of a Tier 2 restricted CoS (Certificate of Sponsorship) is an essential step in the hiring of a Tier 2 migrant employee and yet due to the migrant cap, there are only a certain number of restricted CoS available for allocation to UK businesses each month.

This means that in times of over subscription, the Home Office has resorted to allocating restricted CoS only to those scoring the highest amount of points. As points are awarded according to a set of criteria of which the proposed level of salary is key, the normal minimum salary requirement of £20,800 is set aside in times of hardship and restricted CoS offering high-end salaries are prioritised.

In June this year, this led to the refusal of all requests for restricted CoS scoring fewer than 50 points and therefore offering salaries lower than £46,000. The situation improved somewhat in July as requests were refused only if they scored lower than 45 points and offered salaries below £32,000.

This month has seen the situation almost returning to normal, with requests only being refused if they score fewer than 36 points and offer salaries of under £24,000.

When compared to the situation in June and July, this is a considerable improvement for many companies wishing to employ migrant staff. In fact, the decrease in the minimum salary requirement to only £3,200 above the original minimum requirement could indicate that things may soon return to normal.

In order for this lower minimum salary requirement to be achieved, however, the Home Office has been forced to borrow from next month’s restricted CoS allocation.

It can therefore only be hoped that this will not adversely affect next month’s allocation and that the HR needs of smaller UK businesses and lesser-paying industries will remain secure.

Speak to Smith Stone Walters today for advice on how to best avoid the effects of the migrant cap on your global HR strategy.

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