Reduced Hours, Furlough, or a Temporary Pay Cut on a Work Visa

The published rules on reduced hours and pay cuts for Skilled Workers: how salary is compared with the thresholds, the 4-week rule on unpaid or reduced-pay absence, and what a sponsor must report. Furlough as a scheme closed in 2021.

Checked 21 October 20268 min readWritten by the Rowan Editorial Team

Section: Skilled Worker Visa
Reading time: 8 min
Last checked: 21 October 2026
Source: The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
Rowan does not: Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.

In short

The general salary threshold is not pro-rated for part-time work: actual gross pay is compared with it.
The threshold depends on the salary option of the current permission: £41,700 in the standard case since 22 July 2025, and lower for some options, including for people first granted Skilled Worker permission before 4 April 2024.
Only the going rate is pro-rated, by the weekly hours divided by 37.5 for most occupation codes.
Reduced pay during statutory leave, such as maternity or sick leave, is a permissible absence.
Otherwise, more than 4 weeks in a calendar year (1 January to 31 December) without pay or on reduced pay normally ends the sponsorship.
A sponsor must report a pay cut, and an absence without pay or on reduced pay of more than 4 weeks in a calendar year, within 10 working days.

On a Skilled Worker visa, the general salary threshold is not reduced for part-time work: actual gross pay is compared with it, not a full-time equivalent. Only the going rate for the occupation code is pro-rated by the weekly hours. Reduced pay during statutory leave is a permissible absence; otherwise, more than 4 weeks in a calendar year without pay or on reduced pay normally ends the sponsorship, and any other pay cut must still meet the salary rules. A sponsor must report pay cuts and long unpaid absences. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough) closed on 30 September 2021, and the current sponsor guidance has no furlough exception.

The Key Idea: Only the Going Rate Is Pro-Rated

People often assume that part-time work brings the salary rules down in proportion. It does not. The general threshold is a flat annual figure, and the Home Office compares actual guaranteed gross pay with it, however many hours are worked. Sponsor a Skilled Worker, paragraph SK7.11, says: “we will not pro-rate their salary to the equivalent full-time earnings.” Only the going rate for the occupation code is adjusted for the working pattern.

Paragraph SW 14.4 of the Immigration Rules sets the method for most occupation codes: the going rate is multiplied by the weekly working hours divided by 37.5. Health and education codes are pro-rated as set out in Appendix Skilled Occupations. Paragraph SW 14.3 caps the other end — for someone sponsored to work more than 48 hours a week, only the pay for the first 48 hours counts towards the salary thresholds.

This is why reduced hours matter. Fewer hours mean less actual pay, and the general threshold does not move with them. Our guide on how Skilled Worker salary is calculated explains the method in more detail.

The Two Figures That Still Apply

Whatever happens to hours or pay, two figures still apply: the general Skilled Worker salary threshold and the going rate for the job. Pay must reach the higher of the two.

Since 22 July 2025 the standard general threshold has been £41,700, and a job with a higher going rate needs more. The threshold depends on the salary option the current permission was granted under, and some options are lower. GOV.UK says that people who got their first certificate of sponsorship before 4 April 2024 “may be able to meet lower salary requirements”; the Immigration Rules allow those lower options for applications made before 4 April 2030 by people who have held Skilled Worker permission continuously since. Current figures are on GOV.UK.

The 4-Week Rule, and What Is Excused From It

The general rule sits in the sponsor guidance at paragraph S4.19: a sponsor must normally stop sponsoring a worker who is absent from the sponsored work without pay, or on reduced pay, for more than 4 weeks in total in a calendar year. That can be one long absence or several short ones added together, counted against the worker's normal working pattern.

Paragraph S4.26 then lists the permissible absences, which do not count towards that limit:

Statutory maternity, paternity, parental, shared parental, or adoption leave.
Statutory neonatal care leave.
Sick leave.
Jury service, or attending court as a witness.
Legally organised industrial action.
Assisting with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis, where the sponsor agreed to the absence for that purpose.

Even for a permissible absence, paragraph S4.27 says the sponsor should still report the period through the Sponsor Management System.

A Pay Cut for Any Other Reason

Paragraph S4.29 of the sponsor guidance covers a salary reduction that has nothing to do with absence. The sponsor must report it, and must check whether a new certificate of sponsorship is needed and whether the worker has to apply for new permission before the cut can happen. Paragraph S4.30 says the sponsor must stop sponsoring the worker if the revised salary no longer meets the salary, hourly, or going rate requirement for the job.

Paragraph S4.31 lists the reductions a sponsor must report but does not have to stop sponsoring the worker for:

A cut that goes with a temporary reduction in hours, or a phased return to work, for individual health reasons — provided it is supported by an occupational health assessment and the hourly rate does not fall below the hourly rate requirement that applied at the most recent grant of permission.
A cut after which the worker would still score salary points under the Skilled Worker rules. Sponsor a Skilled Worker, paragraph SK8.4, says this means points under the same salary option as the current permission; if the new salary only meets a different option, paragraph SK8.6 requires a new certificate of sponsorship and a successful new application before the cut.
A cut after which the worker otherwise still meets the salary requirements of the route.

The sponsor guidance lists no business-wide exception. A permanent cut, or a long-term reduction in hours, that leaves actual pay below the threshold or the pro-rated going rate is not covered. Our guide on what happens if salary falls below the threshold sets out the effect on the visa, an extension, and a settlement application.

What Furlough Means for You

Furlough is a word many people remember from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, where staff were kept on the payroll but did not work, often on reduced pay. HMRC says that scheme closed on 30 September 2021. The current sponsor guidance contains no furlough concession and no standing exception for a business-wide pay cut.

A furlough-style arrangement with reduced pay is treated under the ordinary rules above: more than 4 weeks in a calendar year on reduced pay normally ends the sponsorship unless a permissible absence covers it, and any other cut must still meet the salary requirements.

The Sponsor Must Report Changes

Under paragraph C1.15 of sponsor guidance part 3, a sponsor must report, within 10 working days, a reduction in a sponsored worker's pay below the level on their certificate of sponsorship, and an absence without pay or on reduced pay of more than 4 weeks in a calendar year. It reports through the Sponsor Management System. The duty covers temporary as well as permanent cuts. Pay increases and shorter unpaid absences do not have to be reported.

Paragraph C1.35 says the Home Office may revoke a sponsor's licence if it fails to comply with these reporting duties. Our guide on employment rights for visa holders sets out the wider position at work.

How This Affects Your Future Applications

A reduction that breaks the rules affects more than the current permission. An application to extend the visa is checked against the salary rules again.

The same is true for settlement (indefinite leave to remain), which is permission to live in the UK without a time limit. Paragraph SW 24.2 requires the sponsor to confirm that the applicant is paid, and will be paid, at least the settlement salary threshold, and paragraph SW 25.1 says an application that does not meet the requirements is refused.

What the Rules Turn On

The published rules turn on these points:

Whether the change is temporary or permanent, and whether it is a reduction in pay, in hours, or both.
Whether the reason is one of the permissible absences listed in paragraph S4.26.
Actual annual gross pay compared with the general threshold for the salary option of the current permission, and with the going rate for the occupation code pro-rated to the weekly hours.
Whether the sponsor has reported the change, as paragraph C1.15 requires.
GOV.UK says immigration advisers must be registered with the Immigration Advice Authority or be a member of an approved professional body, such as a solicitor; only they may advise on a particular person's circumstances.

Next Steps

Related guides:

Questions and answers

How is salary assessed if hours are reduced?

The general threshold is not reduced for part-time work. The Home Office compares actual gross pay with it and does not convert pay to a full-time equivalent (Sponsor a Skilled Worker, paragraph SK7.11). The threshold is £41,700 a year in the standard case since 22 July 2025, and lower under some salary options, including for people first granted Skilled Worker permission before 4 April 2024, who can use lower thresholds in applications made before 4 April 2030. Only the going rate for the occupation code is pro-rated, by multiplying it by the weekly hours divided by 37.5 for most codes. Fewer hours therefore mean less pay to compare with a threshold that does not move.

Are temporary pay cuts ever allowed on a Skilled Worker visa?

Yes, in the cases the sponsor guidance lists. Reduced pay during statutory maternity, paternity, parental, shared parental, adoption, neonatal care or sick leave is a permissible absence, as are jury service, attending court as a witness, legally organised industrial action, and agreed work on a humanitarian or environmental crisis. Outside those cases, a sponsor can keep sponsoring after a cut only if the worker would still score salary points under the same salary option as their current permission, or if the cut goes with a temporary reduction in hours or a phased return to work for health reasons supported by an occupational health assessment. If the new salary only meets a different option, a new certificate of sponsorship and a new application are needed before the cut takes effect.

Does a sponsor have to report reduced hours or a pay cut?

The sponsor guidance requires a sponsor to report, within 10 working days, a reduction in a sponsored worker's pay and an absence without pay or on reduced pay of more than 4 weeks in a calendar year. This applies whether the cut is temporary or permanent. A change in hours is not a separate item on the list, but a cut in pay that comes with it is. Pay increases and shorter unpaid absences do not have to be reported. The Home Office may revoke a sponsor's licence for failing to report.

How is reduced pay during maternity or sick leave treated?

The sponsor guidance treats statutory maternity, paternity, parental, shared parental, adoption and neonatal care leave, and sick leave, as permissible absences. A sponsor does not have to stop sponsoring a worker for them, even though the general rule is that sponsorship stops after more than 4 weeks in a calendar year without pay or on reduced pay. The guidance says the sponsor should still report the period of absence through the Sponsor Management System.

What do the rules say if an employer wants to cut hours or pay?

The sponsor guidance says a sponsor must report a pay cut and must check, before reducing the salary, whether a new certificate of sponsorship and a new application are needed. It must stop sponsoring the worker if the new salary no longer meets the salary, hourly or going-rate requirement for the job. The permissible absences and the salary-reduction exceptions are listed below. GOV.UK says immigration advisers must be registered with the Immigration Advice Authority or be a member of an approved professional body, such as a solicitor; only they may advise on a particular person's circumstances.

This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.

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