On Friday 23 February 2024, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published its rapid review of the Immigration Salary List (ISL) which is the new name for what is currently known as the Shortage Occupation List. The ISL will come into force in April 2024 (the Government has stated that this will very likely be on 4 April) pending a full review that is intended to be carried out later in the year.

A copy of the rapid review is available here.

Key points to note – to take effect from April:

• Care workers and senior care workers will remain on the ISL as we predicted.
• The minimum salary for care workers and senior care workers eligible for a health and care worker visa will be £23,200. The current threshold is £20,960.
• Other workers eligible for the health and care worker visa route will be subject to a general minimum salary threshold of £29,000 (rather than £38,700 which will apply to other skilled worker roles).
• Roles not eligible for the health and care worker visa but on the Immigration Salary List will be subject to a minimum general salary threshold of £30,960. Previously this was £20,960, so this is a large increase.

Note that only roles in adult social care (or the NHS) are eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa, so if a care worker or senior care worker role falls outside of this category, the ISL minimum salary of £30,960 would apply. The MAC report notes that data from the Home Office suggests that less than 1% of care workers and senior care workers are not eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa. If you are not sure whether a role would be eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa, seek advice.

While care workers are remaining on the ISL for now, the MAC noted that they will revisit including care workers as part of a fuller ISL review later this year. We would hope that that they will continue to include care workers on the ISL as part of this review, as if they are removed it will only cause further recruitment problems for the sector.

A minimum hourly rate has not been specifically announced in this review, but we note that the National Living Wage from 1 April 2024 will be £11.44 per hour for those aged 21 and over and, based on the minimum annual salary set out above, the hourly rate will be greater than this. 

If you have any questions or would like advice on what the changes to the shortage occupation list might mean for you, contact Hazel Findlay or Katherine Sinclair.