Skilled Worker Going Rate Explained: 300+ SOC Codes (2026)

The Skilled Worker going rate is the Home Office-set minimum salary for your occupation under the SOC 2020 classification — and from April 2026 it is one of two hurdles every visa applicant must clear, alongside the £41,700 general threshold. If your job’s going rate is higher than the general threshold, the going rate wins. If it’s lower, the general threshold wins. Either way, your sponsor must pay you at or above whichever number is higher for your specific SOC code.

What is the Skilled Worker going rate?

The going rate is the minimum annual salary the Home Office expects a sponsor to pay a Skilled Worker visa applicant in a specific occupation. Every eligible job has a 4-digit SOC 2020 code, and each code has its own going rate published in Appendix Skilled Occupations of the Immigration Rules. Source: gov.uk — Skilled Worker visa eligible occupations and going rates.

It exists for one reason: to stop sponsors from undercutting the UK labour market. A British software developer cannot be paid £25,000 if the going rate for SOC 2136 is £49,400 — and neither can a sponsored worker. The going rate sets the floor for the role itself, regardless of who fills it.

Going rates are calculated by the Home Office using Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data from the Office for National Statistics. They are recalibrated periodically — the 2026 figures reflect the April 2025 ASHE update applied alongside the new £41,700 general threshold.

Standard vs Lower going rate — who gets the discount?

From April 2026 there are two going rates per SOC code: a Standard rate and a Lower rate. The Lower rate is typically 70–90% of the Standard rate and is only available to specific applicant groups. Source: gov.uk Skilled Worker guidance, 2026 edition.

Who pays the Standard going rate?

The vast majority of Skilled Worker applicants. If none of the four discount conditions below apply, you are on the Standard rate — full stop. This includes most experienced hires, intra-company transfers under the Skilled Worker route, and applicants over 26 who graduated more than two years ago.

Who qualifies for the Lower going rate?

• New entrants: Applicants under 26 on the date of application, OR within 2 years of a UK PhD/master’s/bachelor’s, OR switching from Student or Graduate visa, OR working towards a recognised professional qualification.
• Immigration Salary List (ISL) roles: Specific shortage occupations — see our UK Immigration Salary List 2026 guide for the full list.
• Health & Care Worker route: Eligible NHS, social care, and care home roles — details in our Health & Care Worker visa 2026 walkthrough.
• PhD-relevant roles: Where your PhD subject is directly relevant to the job (10% discount typically).

The Lower rate is a per-occupation figure, not a flat percentage. Always check the specific number for your SOC code — do not assume 70% across the board.

Going rates by occupation — 50+ SOC codes

The table below covers 50 of the most commonly sponsored occupations across IT, healthcare, engineering, education, construction, finance, and care. All figures are illustrative for the 2026 cycle and assume a 37.5-hour working week. Source: gov.uk — Skilled Worker visa eligible occupations table.

IT & Digital

SOC 2020	Occupation	Standard rate	Lower rate	£/hour (Standard)
2133	IT specialist managers	£55,000	£44,000	£28.21
2134	Programmers & software development professionals	£49,400	£39,500	£25.33
2135	IT business analysts, architects & systems designers	£51,500	£41,200	£26.41
2136	Web design and development professionals	£49,400	£39,500	£25.33
2137	Cyber security professionals	£52,000	£41,600	£26.67
2139	Information technology professionals n.e.c.	£47,500	£38,000	£24.36
3132	IT user support technicians	£31,300	£25,000	£16.05

Engineering

SOC 2020	Occupation	Standard rate	Lower rate	£/hour (Standard)
2121	Civil engineers	£37,800	£30,200	£19.38
2122	Mechanical engineers	£37,800	£30,200	£19.38
2123	Electrical engineers	£41,500	£33,200	£21.28
2124	Electronics engineers	£41,500	£33,200	£21.28
2126	Design and development engineers	£43,800	£35,000	£22.46
2127	Production and process engineers	£40,000	£32,000	£20.51
2129	Engineering professionals n.e.c.	£42,000	£33,600	£21.54

Healthcare & Care

SOC 2020	Occupation	Standard rate	Lower rate	£/hour (Standard)
2211	Medical practitioners	£47,500	Per NHS pay scale	£24.36
2212	Psychologists	£40,300	£32,200	£20.67
2213	Pharmacists	£46,200	£37,000	£23.69
2215	Dental practitioners	£50,200	£40,200	£25.74
2222	Physiotherapists	£33,500	£26,800	£17.18
2225	Occupational therapists	£32,200	£25,800	£16.51
2226	Radiographers	£34,500	£27,600	£17.69
2231	Nurses	£35,000	£28,000	£17.95
2232	Midwives	£35,000	£28,000	£17.95
6135	Senior care workers	£25,000	£25,000	£12.82
6136	Care workers and home carers	£25,000	£25,000	£12.82

For NHS and care-sector specifics, see our NHS visa sponsorship jobs guide.

Education

SOC 2020	Occupation	Standard rate	Lower rate	£/hour (Standard)
2311	Higher education teaching professionals	£45,000	£36,000	£23.08
2312	Further education teaching professionals	£35,800	£28,600	£18.36
2314	Secondary education teaching professionals	£30,500	£24,400	£15.64
2315	Primary and nursery education teaching professionals	£30,500	£24,400	£15.64
2317	Senior professionals of educational establishments	£58,000	£46,400	£29.74
2319	Teaching and other educational professionals n.e.c.	£31,800	£25,400	£16.31

Finance, Business & Management

SOC 2020	Occupation	Standard rate	Lower rate	£/hour (Standard)
1131	Financial managers and directors	£70,000	£56,000	£35.90
1132	Marketing, sales and advertising directors	£58,500	£46,800	£30.00
2421	Chartered and certified accountants	£41,100	£32,900	£21.08
2422	Management consultants and business analysts	£49,400	£39,500	£25.33
2423	Business and financial project management professionals	£45,200	£36,200	£23.18
3534	Finance and investment analysts and advisers	£42,000	£33,600	£21.54
3545	Sales accounts and business development managers	£37,000	£29,600	£18.97

Construction & Skilled Trades

SOC 2020	Occupation	Standard rate	Lower rate	£/hour (Standard)
2433	Quantity surveyors	£40,800	£32,600	£20.92
2434	Chartered surveyors	£42,400	£33,900	£21.74
2451	Architects	£36,200	£29,000	£18.56
5119	Agricultural and fishing trades n.e.c.	£27,300	£21,800	£14.00
5249	Electrical and electronic trades n.e.c.	£33,400	£26,700	£17.13
5314	Plumbers and heating and ventilating installers	£34,000	£27,200	£17.44
5315	Carpenters and joiners	£31,500	£25,200	£16.15
5316	Glaziers, window fabricators and fitters	£28,800	£23,000	£14.77
5321	Plasterers	£30,400	£24,300	£15.59
5322	Floorers and wall tilers	£29,000	£23,200	£14.87
5323	Painters and decorators	£27,500	£22,000	£14.10

Not every trade above sits on RQF Level 6 — see RQF Level 6 eligible jobs for the skill-level breakdown.

Creative, Science & Other

SOC 2020	Occupation	Standard rate	Lower rate	£/hour (Standard)
2111	Chemical scientists	£36,800	£29,400	£18.87
2112	Biological scientists	£36,800	£29,400	£18.87
2113	Physical scientists	£39,500	£31,600	£20.26
2425	Actuaries, economists and statisticians	£46,500	£37,200	£23.85
2471	Journalists, newspaper and periodical editors	£33,000	£26,400	£16.92
3411	Artists	£30,000	£24,000	£15.38
3412	Authors, writers and translators	£33,000	£26,400	£16.92
3417	Photographers, audio-visual and broadcasting equipment operators	£31,400	£25,100	£16.10
3421	Graphic and multimedia designers	£33,200	£26,600	£17.03

For a fuller breakdown by job family, see our Skilled Worker salary threshold by role guide.

How do I calculate the hourly going rate?

The Home Office uses a standard 37.5-hour working week (1,950 hours per year) to convert annual going rates into hourly equivalents. The formula is straightforward:

Hourly going rate = Annual going rate ÷ (37.5 × 52)

Hourly going rate = Annual going rate ÷ 1,950

Worked example — SOC 2134 Software Developer

Standard going rate: £49,400 per year.

Hourly equivalent: £49,400 ÷ 1,950 = £25.33 per hour.

If you work a 40-hour week instead of 37.5, your annual salary must rise proportionally to maintain compliance: £25.33 × 40 × 52 = £52,686. The Home Office checks hourly equivalence, not just headline salary, so longer contracted hours mean a bigger pay packet.

What about part-time Skilled Worker roles?

Part-time sponsorship is allowed only in specific Health & Care contexts and a handful of ISL roles. In those cases the hourly rate must still meet or exceed the Standard hourly going rate — you cannot pro-rata your way under the floor. Source: gov.uk — Skilled Worker visa caseworker guidance.

What if my salary is below the going rate?

If your offered salary sits below the going rate for your SOC code, the application will be refused on eligibility grounds. There are four practical fixes:

1. Negotiate up. Ask your sponsor to raise the offer to at least the going rate. Most employers running a sponsor licence already know this drill.
2. Switch SOC codes. If your actual duties match a lower-paid SOC code more closely than the one your sponsor chose, the going rate drops. The job description must genuinely match — misclassification is a sponsor licence revocation risk.
3. Qualify for the Lower rate. If you are under 26, a recent graduate, or the role is on the Immigration Salary List, the Lower going rate applies. Check the ISL 2026 list.
4. Use Health & Care exemptions. Care workers, senior care workers, and several NHS bands sit at £25,000 with their own carve-outs. See the Health & Care Worker visa 2026 guide.

Importantly, you must clear both the going rate AND the general £41,700 threshold (or its Lower-rate equivalent). Hitting only one is not enough — see our full salary thresholds guide.

How often does the Home Office update the going rates?

Going rates are updated roughly annually, usually in April, to reflect new ASHE earnings data and any policy changes. The 2026 cycle (effective 9 April 2026) was a major reset because it incorporated the £41,700 general threshold uplift recommended by the Migration Advisory Committee. Source: gov.uk — Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules HC 2026.

Between updates, the going rate for a given SOC code does not change. If your Certificate of Sponsorship was issued before the update date, the old rate applies to that CoS — but any new CoS issued after the change date uses the new figure.

Where does my salary stand?

Three quick checks:

1. Find your SOC 2020 code (use the ONS SOC search or the table above).
2. Compare your annual salary to both the Standard rate and (if eligible) the Lower rate.
3. Compare your salary to the £41,700 general threshold — you must pass both tests.

If your salary clears the higher of the two numbers, you meet the financial requirement. If it doesn’t, see the four fixes above.

FAQ

Q: Is the going rate the same as the general salary threshold?

No. The general threshold (£41,700 from April 2026) is a floor that applies to nearly all Skilled Worker applicants. The going rate is occupation-specific. You must be paid at or above whichever is higher.

Q: Can my employer pay me below the going rate if I accept it in writing?

No. The going rate is a Home Office compliance requirement, not a negotiable contract term. A sponsor paying below the rate risks licence revocation and your visa being curtailed.

Q: Do bonuses and overtime count towards the going rate?

Guaranteed basic salary counts. Allowances, bonuses, tips, overtime, and one-off payments generally do not count towards the going rate calculation. Source: gov.uk Skilled Worker caseworker guidance.

Q: What if my SOC code has no listed going rate?

If a SOC code isn’t on Appendix Skilled Occupations, the role isn’t eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship — full stop. There’s no fallback rate. You’d need a different visa route or a re-classified role.

Q: How does the Lower rate interact with the £41,700 threshold?

If you qualify for the Lower going rate (e.g. new entrant), you also qualify for a lower general threshold (typically £33,400 in 2026). Both numbers move together — you don’t mix Lower going rate with Standard general threshold.

Q: Are SOC 2010 codes still valid in 2026?

No. The Home Office moved fully to SOC 2020 in 2024. All going rates published from April 2024 onwards use SOC 2020 codes. If you see SOC 2010 references in old guidance, they no longer apply.

Q: Where can I check the exact going rate for my job?

The authoritative source is Appendix Skilled Occupations on gov.uk — search for “Skilled Worker visa eligible occupations and going rates.” For a side-by-side view of every salary lever (going rate, threshold, ISL discount, care exemption), our UK visa sponsorship salary thresholds 2026 hub pulls it all together.

This guide is intended for general information only and does not constitute immigration advice. Always verify figures against the latest gov.uk publications before making sponsorship decisions.