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Can you meet the Skilled Worker minimum salary requirement ?

However , the government recently announced an increase in how much sponsors need to pay from spring 2024 . For new hires the minimum general salary threshold will go up by nearly 50 % from £ 26,200 to £ 38,700 , and the going rates ( minimum salaries for different occupation codes / job types ) will be updated and increased to the median salary for each occupation code . Salaries for existing Skilled Workers will need to be at or above the updated 25th percentile ( not the median ) for the relevant occupation code when they apply to change employment , extend their stay or settle . These announcements have caused consternation among businesses , and start-ups in particular . Data from Nation . better shows that 37 % of tech start-up workers won ’ t meet the new salary requirement , particularly bright graduates for whom the average salary falls significantly below £ 38,700 .

Do you want to hire a contractor ?

If a start-up wants to hire someone on a contractor basis , the Skilled Worker sponsorship route may not work . There are a number of UK immigration visa categories which allow people to work flexibly without the need to be sponsored . These include :

• Spouse visa ( those who are married to British citizens are permitted to work with minimal restriction )

• Status under the EU Settlement Scheme

• Graduate visa

• High Potential Individual visa ( HPI )

• Global Talent visa

• Student visa ( which can allow limited working in some situations )

• Scale-up visa ( which is a hybrid between sponsorship and being able to work on a self-employed basis . It applies to high growth businesses )

Counting the costs well as the increased salary costs may be unaffordable . All in , businesses can expect in excess of a 50 % increase in start-up costs per sponsored worker .

Does the UK have a competitive offer for tech talent ?

Though the Home Office claims that available routes can attract top tech talent , it ’ s unavoidable that reintroducing obstacles to skilled migration make it harder for UK companies to compete in global markets . From speaking to our clients in the tech sector we know that the impression this gives is problematic . Whilst they understand that the UK has great homegrown talent , it highlights an unattractive and unsupportive attitude to business needs and short-sightedness to the fact that the tech sector needs talent now .

Although there are many reasons that the UK remains an attractive ecosystem for entrepreneurs , we have to acknowledge that with access to capital reducing and the tax framework becoming less competitive , with the lack of a UK digital nomad visa , there are a lot of other growing tech ecosystems where founders might choose to go . It looks like they are already starting to do so , with the percentage of fast-growing start-ups in the UK founded by immigrant founders having dropped from 49 % to 39 % between 2019 and 2023 .

Whatever happens in the next election , the challenge the next government will face is how to ensure the opportunities presented in tech are not missed , and they will need to come up with more flexible policies to give start-ups confidence over their own and their company ’ s futures . �

THOUGH THE HOME OFFICE CLAIMS THAT AVAILABLE ROUTES CAN ATTRACT TOP TECH TALENT , IT ’ S UNAVOIDABLE THAT REINTRODUCING OBSTACLES TO SKILLED MIGRATION MAKE IT HARDER FOR UK COMPANIES TO COMPETE IN GLOBAL MARKETS .

Elli Graves , Senior Immigration Advisor , Kingsley Napley LLP

A lot of start-ups find themselves employing young talent on a student , HPI or graduate visa . However , once they reach the end of that temporary visa , the costs for keeping them will be significant . In a world where start-ups are facing difficulty getting funding , the fees associated with sponsorship as