Codes of Practice for Skilled Workers

1 Codes of Practice for Skilled Workers Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Codes and minimum appropriate salary rates 6 April 2015 Version 04/15 ArchivedThis is an archived document, the current Codes are now contained within the Immigration Rules 2 Table of Contents Who should read this document? .. 3 How do I use this document? .. 3 1: Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) Codes Table 1: Occupations Skilled to PhD level .. 5 Table 2: Occupations Skilled to NQF level 6.

2 6 Table 3: Occupations Skilled to NQF level 4 .. 8 Table 4: Occupations Skilled to NQF level 3 .. 9 Table 5: Lower Skilled occupations ineligible for tier 2 (General) and tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) applications ..11 Table 6: Occupations ineligible for tier 2 (General) and tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) applications for reasons other than skill level ..21 2: SOC Conversion Index Conversion table ..22 3: Supplementary Descriptions and Minimum Appropriate Salary Rates Table 1: Occupations Skilled to PhD level ..30 Table 2: Occupations Skilled to NQF level 6.

3 34 Table 3: Occupations Skilled to NQF level 4 ..81 Table 4: Occupations Skilled to NQF level 3 ..98 ArchivedThis is an archived document, the current Codes are now contained within the Immigration Rules 3 Who should read this document? This document is aimed at employers who are looking to sponsor a migrant through the points - based system . It mainly applies to tier 2 (General) and tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) categories. However, it also applies to some parts of tier 5, to tier 1 (General) and tier 1 (Post-Study Work) migrants switching to tier 1 (Entrepreneur), and to work permit holders applying for settlement.

4 It lists: The skill level for each occupation; The minimum appropriate rates of pay for each occupation; and Example job tasks and titles to help you accurately match up a job to the corresponding classification code. The Codes of Practice are an integral part of the immigration system relating to migrant Workers . These Codes supersede all previous Codes and apply to all tier 2 applications made by migrants using certificates of sponsorship assigned by sponsors on or after 6 April 2015, and all other applications made by migrants where the date of application is on or after 6 April 2015.

5 The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) is a common classification of occupational information for the United Kingdom. Within the context of the classification, jobs are classified in terms of their skill level and skill content. These Codes of Practice are based on the new SOC 2010 system developed by the Office for National Statistics, and have been drawn up based on advice from industry experts and the Migration Advisory Committee. When we refer to we or us in this document we mean the Home Office. When we refer to you or your this means the sponsor in the case of tier 2 or tier 5 migrants, or the employer supporting the application for settlement in the case of work permit holders.

6 In the case of post-study Workers switching to tier 1 (Entrepreneur), the references to recruiting for jobs will not be relevant, but the code of Practice must still be used by applicants to check that they are working at the necessary skill level (National Qualification Framework (NQF) 4 or above). How do I use this document? You should use this document to determine what the skill level and minimum rates of pay are for any job you may want to recruit for, and to obtain the relevant classification code when assigning a certificate of sponsorship.

7 The document is made up of 3 sections: Section 1 lists the new standard occupational classification (SOC) Codes you should use when sponsoring a migrant worker. These are grouped together in tables and are colour coded by NQF skill level and eligibility. They are also listed in numerical order. Section 2 provides an index for the conversion of a formerly used SOC 2000 code to the relevant corresponding SOC 2010 one. These are listed in numerical order. The former SOC 2000 Codes are listed in grey to the left hand side with the corresponding new SOC 2010 code, colour coded by NQF skill level, to the right hand side.

8 Section 3 provides supplementary descriptions and the minimum appropriate salary rates for those occupational SOC Codes listed as being NQF level 3 or above. The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) is a common classification of occupations developed by the Office for National Statistics. You can find more information, including example job tasks and guides to help you match jobs to the most appropriate SOC code, on the Office for National Statistics website. Or if you require assistance in obtaining a SOC code, please contact the Social Classifications Helpdesk by sending an email to and supply the following information: ArchivedThis is an archived document, the current Codes are now contained within the Immigration Rules 4 the job title, job description, and qualifications needed to do the job.

9 Approaches 1. If you are using this document to find the SOC code, minimum pay rates, and/or skill level for a job you want to recruit for, then it is recommended that you start with section 1. Once you have identified any relevant SOC Codes you should then click on the hyperlink (in blue font) which will take you to the corresponding supplementary descriptions and salary rates in section 3. 2. If you are using this document to convert a formerly used SOC 2000 code into the relevant, corresponding SOC 2010 code, then it is recommended that you start with section 2.

10 Once you have identified any relevant SOC Codes then you should click on the hyperlink (in blue font) which will take you to the corresponding supplementary descriptions and salary rates in section 3. 3. If you already know the SOC code or occupational description for a job ( 2231 or nurses for example) then you can perform a keyword search using the word search function in your browser. Clicking through the search results will take you to all references within the document including the supplementary descriptions and salary rates for this job in section 3.