UKVI Salary Compliance Rules for Adult Social Care: What to Check in Every Pay Period

A recording of the webinar can reviewed below, and a copy of the slides can be found HERE.

Salary compliance is no longer something sponsors can judge only from the annual figure on a Certificate of Sponsorship. This webinar explained the pay-period rules introduced in April 2026, the care-sector risks that can cause underpayment and the monthly controls providers should put in place.

Payroll accuracy is a sponsor licence issue. From 8 April 2026, the Skilled Worker salary rules place greater emphasis on what a sponsored worker is actually paid in each pay period, alongside rolling-period tests for the required annual salary. A later bonus or correction may not solve an earlier compliance failure.

For adult social care providers, variable shifts, overtime, travel time, sleep-in arrangements, sickness, unpaid leave, salary deductions and changing rotas can all make the position more complex. HR, payroll and operational teams need one consistent view of the worker’s role, hours and pay.

Attendees joined Kashif Majeed, Director at Aston Brooke Solicitors and lead for Sponsorship & Home Office Compliance, for a practical explanation of the current rules and the controls care providers can use to identify problems early.

In this webinar, we covered:

• What changed on 8th April 2026 and why pay-period compliance now matters.
• The requirement for pay in each pay period to meet the applicable hourly going rate, together with the three-month, 12-week and 17-week salary tests that may apply to different pay patterns.
• The current £25,000 annual and £12.82 hourly figures for care workers and senior care workers in the relevant Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker circumstances, and why the exact worker-specific requirement must always be checked.
• The National Living Wage rate of £12.71 for workers aged 21 and over from 1 April 2026, and the need to test immigration and minimum-wage compliance separately.
• Care-sector risk areas: variable hours, overtime, travel time, sleep-ins, unpaid absence, sickness, deductions, salary sacrifice, role changes and rota drift.
• How to reconcile the Certificate of Sponsorship, contract, payroll, payslips, HMRC Real Time Information, rotas and timesheets.
• A practical monthly control cycle for HR, payroll, operations and the Authorising Officer.
• What records to retain so the organisation can demonstrate compliance during a desktop check or visit.

Who attended?

Directors, owners, Authorising Officers, Key Contacts, Level 1 and Level 2 Users, finance directors, payroll managers, HR and compliance teams, registered managers and operational leaders whose decisions affect sponsored workers’ hours or pay.

Why should you watch?

A salary recorded correctly on the CoS is not enough if actual pay, hours or deductions create a shortfall. This session helped translate the rules into a repeatable monthly check, to improve coordination between departments and build the evidence needed to respond confidently to UKVI scrutiny.

Previous Webinars: UKVI Mock Audits and Sponsor Licence Suspension and Revocation

If you missed our previous webinar on Tuesday 11th August, UKVI Mock Audits: Prepare for a Home Office Inspection and Protect Your Sponsor Licence, you can now watch the recording and access a copy of the slides, here.

The session covered how to prepare for an announced or unannounced Home Office compliance visit, what UKVI may examine and how a mock audit can help identify weaknesses before they put your sponsor licence at risk.

If you missed our previous webinar on Thursday 27th August, Sponsor Licence Suspension and Revocation: Protect Your Licence and Plan Your Next Steps, you can now watch the recording and access a copy of the slides here.