New
Tier 2 salary
threshold!
12 May 2016
The recruitment of skilled employees from outside the EEA is about to become a lot more expensive for UK employers.
Changes are being made to Tier 2, the UK’s skilled visa category, which will make the practice of recruiting visa nationals for skilled roles not only more complex, but also more costly.
One of the most notable rule changes is the government’s decision to increase the minimum salary threshold for Tier 2 applications to £30,000 over the coming year.
This threshold is currently set at a minimum of £20,800, but will increase to £25,000 in the autumn of this year and then again to £30,000 in April next year.
There is some good news, however, as these increases will not apply to certain public sector roles, such as paramedics, nurses and teachers, until January 2019, and applications for entrant-level roles (classed as graduate hires, Tier 4 to Tier 2 switches, or anyone aged 25 or under) will be exempt completely.
Taken in isolation, most UK employers will be able to absorb and adapt to these increased recruitment costs.
When this extra expense is combined with current and upcoming immigration costs, however, many organisations may be forced to abandon hopes of employing the best global talent in the very near future.
Increasing the minimum salary requirement for Tier 2 hires is likely to have a negative effect on the economy, leaving those industries whose recruitment needs are best met by overseas talent unable to adequately equip themselves within the global economy.
We advise that the sponsors of migrant employees take the time to examine their recruitment needs and budget well ahead of the introduction of new immigration legislation in autumn 2016 and April 2017.
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