Plan Ahead for T1e Accelerated Route

[Easykiller]

Hi all,

Most of the cases here are focus on the applicant's present status but I would rather want to get advice from experts here in order to plan ahead to see if myself is eligible or capable to go through the accelerated route (10 jobs one). Have gone through the rules, guidance and many sources and quite sure I am clear about the major game rules.

My case:
Landed: Mar 2017
Visa till: Jul 2020
Business started: Nov 2017
Business type: Fast food (So we have relatively longer hours to accommodate more work hours)

On the capital investment side, I am very sure it has exceeded 200K. But my job creation history is a bit complicated so advice needed.

1 x Manager (Full Time) - position since Oct 2017 to now (still exists, non-stop by 2 employees, or already over 12 months)

1 x Supervisor (Full Time) - position since Oct 2017 to now (still exists, non-stop by 3 employees, or already over 12 months)

5-10 Team Members (Part-time or casual) - (all in SAME JOB TITLE and job nature)
This is the most complicated part and I try to state them in timeline:
- In Nov 2017 at the beginning of the business, we have trained and hired around 10 team members but they were in casual agreement (this gave us greater flexibility on the rosters, but unfortunately this MAY NOT count, question later)
- From Nov 2017- Jun 2018, as expected some casual workers left, some newcomers, but some worked consistently since the beginning, 1 or 2 even worked over 30 hours per week very often and sometimes flex up for the task of the Supervisor
- Late June 2018, The 2nd employee of Supervisor left and that consistent Team Member was promoted to take up the position with a formal full time contract, and still working at the position
- Since late June 2018, we signed a formal contract with an additional new Team Member and he consistently worked as a full time till now (over 30 hours per week).
- Late June 2018, as the operation of the store become stable, we woke up and re-signed formal permanent contracts with all existing Team Members (around 5-6), as we found that there is no difference at all on salary, holiday pay and benefits when compare to the casual agreement. The new employment contract states they have minimum of 4 hours to work per week, but they are not paid if they do not come to work. But they are eligible to holiday pay.
- As usual, since late June 2018 till now, some part-timers left and some new comers
- Till now, we are still maintaining 5-6 Team Members and it is expected the situation will continue. I totally understand whether these positions can be combined or counted depends on the calculation of their working hours per week and the accumulation throughout the last 14 months. It is hard to tell here as sometimes more come to work and sometimes less. These will be put in an excel table for further confirmation and calculation by solicitor. But at the moment I am quite sure that these part-timers could make up at least 2 full-time positions, no matter since November 2017 or June 2018
- Still 1.5 year before the Visa expire, we may have ability to hire one or two staff, most likely part-timers as Team Member as well
- I am also considering to set up another company to develop other business and could have the ability to hire some staff, the numbers will highly depends on how many headcounts I have already achieved

Here's the main questions:
Q1. As we are after the transition arrangement, we cannot combine 2 different part-time jobs to form a full time job. But is it similar to the extension requirements, we can still combine 2 or more part-time work hours of same position into one full time job, even for the accelerated route? (Remember they are in same title and job nature). I could not find any hints in the official guidance or discussion topics here, or even the guidelines for CW. So I just want to further clarify. This is essential if they were not counted, I only have 3 eligible headcounts at present.

Q2. As stated above, do those employees or headcounts with casual agreements in the first 7 months count? In fact they were all paid as same as normal contract staff with official payslips, pay holidays and all HMRC forms filled. The only difference was the contract, of which the casual one stated "this is not an employment contract". I heard of some successful extension cases that they did not need to submit the employment contract. I could arrange those 2 or 3 staff who are still working here to sign a back dated permanent contract but I could not find those who left. If they are not counted or most likely not counted then it will be a big wastage.

Q3. As position 1 & 2 (Manager & Supervisor) have been existed for over 12 months, is it possible that we promote that 2 staff to a new position with new title, new contract and new but similar job description, so that 2 additional jobs are created? (In fact they were performing well and deserve a promotion) I know to some extent it is tricky but I could not find any clause or explanations in the guidance avoiding this, or saying this is invalid.

Q4. Holiday Pay were made to all my staff (both casual & contracted). Does it mean that those days when they were absent or in holiday are still counted as an employee, so that I can add into the excel?

To sum up, I am quite sure by the end of June this year I will achieve 5 headcounts if I go for normal extension process. (1 manager, 1 supervisor, 1 consistent Team Member & 2 Part-time Team Members, all with formal employment contracts.) But this is just half way and at that time only 10 months to go. However, if there are more positive answers then I may now have accumulated 70% of the accelerated target and I still have around 15 months to achieve the rest 30%

I have done my best to explain my present situation and hope it is clear but feel free to ask any question for clarification.

Thank you very much for viewing and answering!

[aman90]

Hi all,

Most of the cases here are focus on the applicant's present status but I would rather want to get advice from experts here in order to plan ahead to see if myself is eligible or capable to go through the accelerated route (10 jobs one). Have gone through the rules, guidance and many sources and quite sure I am clear about the major game rules.

Do read caseworker guidance notes as well

My case:
Landed: Mar 2017
Visa till: Jul 2020
Business started: Nov 2017
Business type: Fast food (So we have relatively longer hours to accommodate more work hours)
Franchise?
Jobs matter.. minimum hours matter.. anything above minimum hours is disregarded.

On the capital investment side, I am very sure it has exceeded 200K.
This must not include any goodwill.

But my job creation history is a bit complicated so advice needed.

Transitional arrangement never applied to accelerated settlement.
In order to qualify for accelerate settlement on the basis of job creation, the jobs must have existed for at least 12 months during your last grant of leave.

1 x Manager (Full Time) - position since Oct 2017 to now (still exists, non-stop by 2 employees, or already over 12 months)

Can’t claim 24 months for 1 full time job to be equivalent of 2 full time jobs. That’s transitional arrangement.

1 x Supervisor (Full Time) - position since Oct 2017 to now (still exists, non-stop by 3 employees, or already over 12 months)

5-10 Team Members (Part-time or casual) - (all in SAME JOB TITLE and job nature)
This is the most complicated part and I try to state them in timeline:
- In Nov 2017 at the beginning of the business, we have trained and hired around 10 team members but they were in casual agreement (this gave us greater flexibility on the rosters, but unfortunately this MAY NOT count, question later)
- From Nov 2017- Jun 2018, as expected some casual workers left, some newcomers, but some worked consistently since the beginning, 1 or 2 even worked over 30 hours per week very often and sometimes flex up for the task of the Supervisor
- Late June 2018, The 2nd employee of Supervisor left and that consistent Team Member was promoted to take up the position with a formal full time contract, and still working at the position
- Since late June 2018, we signed a formal contract with an additional new Team Member and he consistently worked as a full time till now (over 30 hours per week).
- Late June 2018, as the operation of the store become stable, we woke up and re-signed formal permanent contracts with all existing Team Members (around 5-6), as we found that there is no difference at all on salary, holiday pay and benefits when compare to the casual agreement. The new employment contract states they have minimum of 4 hours to work per week, but they are not paid if they do not come to work. But they are eligible to holiday pay.
- As usual, since late June 2018 till now, some part-timers left and some new comers
- Till now, we are still maintaining 5-6 Team Members and it is expected the situation will continue. I totally understand whether these positions can be combined or counted depends on the calculation of their working hours per week and the accumulation throughout the last 14 months. It is hard to tell here as sometimes more come to work and sometimes less. These will be put in an excel table for further confirmation and calculation by solicitor. But at the moment I am quite sure that these part-timers could make up at least 2 full-time positions, no matter since November 2017 or June 2018
- Still 1.5 year before the Visa expire, we may have ability to hire one or two staff, most likely part-timers as Team Member as well
- I am also considering to set up another company to develop other business and could have the ability to hire some staff, the numbers will highly depends on how many headcounts I have already achieved

Employees can come and go 10 JOBs must exist for 12 months atleast..12 non consecutive salaries must be paid.

Here's the main questions:
Q1. As we are after the transition arrangement, we cannot combine 2 different part-time jobs to form a full time job.
Yes you can as long as each part time job existed for 12 months.
E.g Waiter, 20hrs PT position combined with Cleaner, 10hrs PT position for atleast 12 months.

But is it similar to the extension requirements, we can still combine 2 or more part-time work hours of same position into one full time job, even for the accelerated route? (Remember they are in same title and job nature).

Job share of a FT position
E.g Team Member, 30hrs per week FT position for atleast 12 months.
Can be performed by 2 employees on pro rata basis.

I could not find any hints in the official guidance or discussion topics here, or even the guidelines for CW.
No hints required. Job creation is clearly defined.
It applies to 2 as well as 10 or 16

So I just want to further clarify. This is essential if they were not counted, I only have 3 eligible headcounts at present.


Q2. As stated above, do those employees or headcounts with casual agreements in the first 7 months count? In fact they were all paid as same as normal contract staff with official payslips, pay holidays and all HMRC forms filled. The only difference was the contract, of which the casual one stated "this is not an employment contract". I heard of some successful extension cases that they did not need to submit the employment contract. I could arrange those 2 or 3 staff who are still working here to sign a back dated permanent contract but I could not find those who left. If they are not counted or most likely not counted then it will be a big wastage.

Now this is up to ur intelligence how you can manage to show them as per requirement... keep in mind.. for now 120hrs per month is considered full time..
30 hrs per week is considered full time.


Q3. As position 1 & 2 (Manager & Supervisor) have been existed for over 12 months, is it possible that we promote that 2 staff to a new position with new title, new contract and new but similar job description, so that 2 additional jobs are created? (In fact they were performing well and deserve a promotion) I know to some extent it is tricky but I could not find any clause or explanations in the guidance avoiding this, or saying this is invalid.

sounds dodgy as similar job description. But then how you see fit to run ur business is ur prerogative. As long as the new JOB exists for 12 months and 12 salaries are paid out. Employee can move from one role to the other.
Be prepared for stringent checks


Q4. Holiday Pay were made to all my staff (both casual & contracted). Does it mean that those days when they were absent or in holiday are still counted as an employee, so that I can add into the excel?
Yes of course. They were paid and tax was paid on that sum.

To sum up, I am quite sure by the end of June this year I will achieve 5 headcounts if I go for normal extension process. (1 manager, 1 supervisor, 1 consistent Team Member & 2 Part-time Team Members, all with formal employment contracts.) But this is just half way and at that time only 10 months to go.

Heads don’t matter.. 10 jobs can be performed by 20 employees as long as the 12 month/salary requirement is met.
Ensure you have each and every employees docs.

However, if there are more positive answers then I may now have accumulated 70% of the accelerated target and I still have around 15 months to achieve the rest 30%

I have done my best to explain my present situation and hope it is clear but feel free to ask any question for clarification.

Thank you very much for viewing and answering!

I hope you have a sound accountant.
Remember ur business does not have to be in profit. The employees must make sense.
A balance should be met.
Ive tried to clarify as per my understanding of accelerated settlement as I looked into it for myself.
If I’ve made a mistake I’m pretty sure someone will correct me soon enough..
Fingers crossed successful applicants come across ur post and advise you further.. as well as gurus.

[Easykiller]

Hi all,

Most of the cases here are focus on the applicant's present status but I would rather want to get advice from experts here in order to plan ahead to see if myself is eligible or capable to go through the accelerated route (10 jobs one). Have gone through the rules, guidance and many sources and quite sure I am clear about the major game rules.

Do read caseworker guidance notes as well

My case:
Landed: Mar 2017
Visa till: Jul 2020
Business started: Nov 2017
Business type: Fast food (So we have relatively longer hours to accommodate more work hours)
Franchise?
Jobs matter.. minimum hours matter.. anything above minimum hours is disregarded.

On the capital investment side, I am very sure it has exceeded 200K.
This must not include any goodwill.

But my job creation history is a bit complicated so advice needed.

Transitional arrangement never applied to accelerated settlement.
In order to qualify for accelerate settlement on the basis of job creation, the jobs must have existed for at least 12 months during your last grant of leave.

1 x Manager (Full Time) - position since Oct 2017 to now (still exists, non-stop by 2 employees, or already over 12 months)

Can’t claim 24 months for 1 full time job to be equivalent of 2 full time jobs. That’s transitional arrangement.

1 x Supervisor (Full Time) - position since Oct 2017 to now (still exists, non-stop by 3 employees, or already over 12 months)

5-10 Team Members (Part-time or casual) - (all in SAME JOB TITLE and job nature)
This is the most complicated part and I try to state them in timeline:
- In Nov 2017 at the beginning of the business, we have trained and hired around 10 team members but they were in casual agreement (this gave us greater flexibility on the rosters, but unfortunately this MAY NOT count, question later)
- From Nov 2017- Jun 2018, as expected some casual workers left, some newcomers, but some worked consistently since the beginning, 1 or 2 even worked over 30 hours per week very often and sometimes flex up for the task of the Supervisor
- Late June 2018, The 2nd employee of Supervisor left and that consistent Team Member was promoted to take up the position with a formal full time contract, and still working at the position
- Since late June 2018, we signed a formal contract with an additional new Team Member and he consistently worked as a full time till now (over 30 hours per week).
- Late June 2018, as the operation of the store become stable, we woke up and re-signed formal permanent contracts with all existing Team Members (around 5-6), as we found that there is no difference at all on salary, holiday pay and benefits when compare to the casual agreement. The new employment contract states they have minimum of 4 hours to work per week, but they are not paid if they do not come to work. But they are eligible to holiday pay.
- As usual, since late June 2018 till now, some part-timers left and some new comers
- Till now, we are still maintaining 5-6 Team Members and it is expected the situation will continue. I totally understand whether these positions can be combined or counted depends on the calculation of their working hours per week and the accumulation throughout the last 14 months. It is hard to tell here as sometimes more come to work and sometimes less. These will be put in an excel table for further confirmation and calculation by solicitor. But at the moment I am quite sure that these part-timers could make up at least 2 full-time positions, no matter since November 2017 or June 2018
- Still 1.5 year before the Visa expire, we may have ability to hire one or two staff, most likely part-timers as Team Member as well
- I am also considering to set up another company to develop other business and could have the ability to hire some staff, the numbers will highly depends on how many headcounts I have already achieved

Employees can come and go 10 JOBs must exist for 12 months atleast..12 non consecutive salaries must be paid.

Here's the main questions:
Q1. As we are after the transition arrangement, we cannot combine 2 different part-time jobs to form a full time job.
Yes you can as long as each part time job existed for 12 months.
E.g Waiter, 20hrs PT position combined with Cleaner, 10hrs PT position for atleast 12 months.

But is it similar to the extension requirements, we can still combine 2 or more part-time work hours of same position into one full time job, even for the accelerated route? (Remember they are in same title and job nature).

Job share of a FT position
E.g Team Member, 30hrs per week FT position for atleast 12 months.
Can be performed by 2 employees on pro rata basis.

I could not find any hints in the official guidance or discussion topics here, or even the guidelines for CW.
No hints required. Job creation is clearly defined.
It applies to 2 as well as 10 or 16

So I just want to further clarify. This is essential if they were not counted, I only have 3 eligible headcounts at present.


Q2. As stated above, do those employees or headcounts with casual agreements in the first 7 months count? In fact they were all paid as same as normal contract staff with official payslips, pay holidays and all HMRC forms filled. The only difference was the contract, of which the casual one stated "this is not an employment contract". I heard of some successful extension cases that they did not need to submit the employment contract. I could arrange those 2 or 3 staff who are still working here to sign a back dated permanent contract but I could not find those who left. If they are not counted or most likely not counted then it will be a big wastage.

Now this is up to ur intelligence how you can manage to show them as per requirement... keep in mind.. for now 120hrs per month is considered full time..
30 hrs per week is considered full time.


Q3. As position 1 & 2 (Manager & Supervisor) have been existed for over 12 months, is it possible that we promote that 2 staff to a new position with new title, new contract and new but similar job description, so that 2 additional jobs are created? (In fact they were performing well and deserve a promotion) I know to some extent it is tricky but I could not find any clause or explanations in the guidance avoiding this, or saying this is invalid.

sounds dodgy as similar job description. But then how you see fit to run ur business is ur prerogative. As long as the new JOB exists for 12 months and 12 salaries are paid out. Employee can move from one role to the other.
Be prepared for stringent checks


Q4. Holiday Pay were made to all my staff (both casual & contracted). Does it mean that those days when they were absent or in holiday are still counted as an employee, so that I can add into the excel?
Yes of course. They were paid and tax was paid on that sum.

To sum up, I am quite sure by the end of June this year I will achieve 5 headcounts if I go for normal extension process. (1 manager, 1 supervisor, 1 consistent Team Member & 2 Part-time Team Members, all with formal employment contracts.) But this is just half way and at that time only 10 months to go.

Heads don’t matter.. 10 jobs can be performed by 20 employees as long as the 12 month/salary requirement is met.
Ensure you have each and every employees docs.

However, if there are more positive answers then I may now have accumulated 70% of the accelerated target and I still have around 15 months to achieve the rest 30%

I have done my best to explain my present situation and hope it is clear but feel free to ask any question for clarification.

Thank you very much for viewing and answering!

I hope you have a sound accountant.
Remember ur business does not have to be in profit. The employees must make sense.
A balance should be met.
Ive tried to clarify as per my understanding of accelerated settlement as I looked into it for myself.
If I’ve made a mistake I’m pretty sure someone will correct me soon enough..
Fingers crossed successful applicants come across ur post and advise you further.. as well as gurus.

Thank you for those reminders. 200K+ investment is another must-have requirement so I just briefly mentioned here, not for goodwill. Just hope to get some more solid answers or insights for these questions so that I can plan ahead in advance. Also all the best to your business and application.

[aman90]

A bit more than reminders if you read between the lines.
Oh and thank you.. got ILR few months ago.. it’s been a challenging 5 years succeeeding as per HMRC and HO requirements..
Good luck to you for your journey ahead!

[marcnath]

My case:
Landed: Mar 2017
Visa till: Jul 2020
Business started: Nov 2017
Business type: Fast food (So we have relatively longer hours to accommodate more work hours)

On the capital investment side, I am very sure it has exceeded 200K. But my job creation history is a bit complicated so advice needed.

1 x Manager (Full Time) - position since Oct 2017 to now (still exists, non-stop by 2 employees, or already over 12 months)

1 x Supervisor (Full Time) - position since Oct 2017 to now (still exists, non-stop by 3 employees, or already over 12 months)

5-10 Team Members (Part-time or casual) - (all in SAME JOB TITLE and job nature)
This is the most complicated part and I try to state them in timeline:
- In Nov 2017 at the beginning of the business, we have trained and hired around 10 team members but they were in casual agreement (this gave us greater flexibility on the rosters, but unfortunately this MAY NOT count, question later)
- From Nov 2017- Jun 2018, as expected some casual workers left, some newcomers, but some worked consistently since the beginning, 1 or 2 even worked over 30 hours per week very often and sometimes flex up for the task of the Supervisor
- Late June 2018, The 2nd employee of Supervisor left and that consistent Team Member was promoted to take up the position with a formal full time contract, and still working at the position
- Since late June 2018, we signed a formal contract with an additional new Team Member and he consistently worked as a full time till now (over 30 hours per week).
- Late June 2018, as the operation of the store become stable, we woke up and re-signed formal permanent contracts with all existing Team Members (around 5-6), as we found that there is no difference at all on salary, holiday pay and benefits when compare to the casual agreement. The new employment contract states they have minimum of 4 hours to work per week, but they are not paid if they do not come to work. But they are eligible to holiday pay.
- As usual, since late June 2018 till now, some part-timers left and some new comers
- Till now, we are still maintaining 5-6 Team Members and it is expected the situation will continue. I totally understand whether these positions can be combined or counted depends on the calculation of their working hours per week and the accumulation throughout the last 14 months. It is hard to tell here as sometimes more come to work and sometimes less. These will be put in an excel table for further confirmation and calculation by solicitor. But at the moment I am quite sure that these part-timers could make up at least 2 full-time positions, no matter since November 2017 or June 2018
- Still 1.5 year before the Visa expire, we may have ability to hire one or two staff, most likely part-timers as Team Member as well
- I am also considering to set up another company to develop other business and could have the ability to hire some staff, the numbers will highly depends on how many headcounts I have already achieved

Here's the main questions:
Q1. As we are after the transition arrangement, we cannot combine 2 different part-time jobs to form a full time job. But is it similar to the extension requirements, we can still combine 2 or more part-time work hours of same position into one full time job, even for the accelerated route? (Remember they are in same title and job nature). I could not find any hints in the official guidance or discussion topics here, or even the guidelines for CW. So I just want to further clarify. This is essential if they were not counted, I only have 3 eligible headcounts at present.

Yes, you can combine 2 or more part-timers to make up a FT job. That has been specified in both extension and ILR requirements.

Q2. As stated above, do those employees or headcounts with casual agreements in the first 7 months count? In fact they were all paid as same as normal contract staff with official payslips, pay holidays and all HMRC forms filled. The only difference was the contract, of which the casual one stated "this is not an employment contract". I heard of some successful extension cases that they did not need to submit the employment contract. I could arrange those 2 or 3 staff who are still working here to sign a back dated permanent contract but I could not find those who left. If they are not counted or most likely not counted then it will be a big wastage.

There is no requirement to submit employment contracts. The immigration rules do not specify the type of contract. If those words are the only difference, I can't see why it would not be allowed even if the contracts were produced.

The key requirements are:
1. They are settled workers
2. They have been on the payroll with payment made on RTI with applicable NI paid.

Q3. As position 1 & 2 (Manager & Supervisor) have been existed for over 12 months, is it possible that we promote that 2 staff to a new position with new title, new contract and new but similar job description, so that 2 additional jobs are created? (In fact they were performing well and deserve a promotion) I know to some extent it is tricky but I could not find any clause or explanations in the guidance avoiding this, or saying this is invalid.

This is indeed tricky. If the same person in moved to a different job, I believe you would have a very good argument.

But a promotion just because of performance is unlikely to be accepted as a new job unless someone else was hired to continue in the old role. It is not as though an accountant was later given a marketing job.

Q4. Holiday Pay were made to all my staff (both casual & contracted). Does it mean that those days when they were absent or in holiday are still counted as an employee, so that I can add into the excel?

HO calculates hours with a simple formula of dividing gross pay in the RTI by the hourly rate that you declare in the form. Actual attendance is immaterial.

To sum up, I am quite sure by the end of June this year I will achieve 5 headcounts if I go for normal extension process. (1 manager, 1 supervisor, 1 consistent Team Member & 2 Part-time Team Members, all with formal employment contracts.) But this is just half way and at that time only 10 months to go. However, if there are more positive answers then I may now have accumulated 70% of the accelerated target and I still have around 15 months to achieve the rest 30%

I have done my best to explain my present situation and hope it is clear but feel free to ask any question for clarification.

Thank you very much for viewing and answering!

[Easykiller]

My case:
Landed: Mar 2017
Visa till: Jul 2020
Business started: Nov 2017
Business type: Fast food (So we have relatively longer hours to accommodate more work hours)

On the capital investment side, I am very sure it has exceeded 200K. But my job creation history is a bit complicated so advice needed.

1 x Manager (Full Time) - position since Oct 2017 to now (still exists, non-stop by 2 employees, or already over 12 months)

1 x Supervisor (Full Time) - position since Oct 2017 to now (still exists, non-stop by 3 employees, or already over 12 months)

5-10 Team Members (Part-time or casual) - (all in SAME JOB TITLE and job nature)
This is the most complicated part and I try to state them in timeline:
- In Nov 2017 at the beginning of the business, we have trained and hired around 10 team members but they were in casual agreement (this gave us greater flexibility on the rosters, but unfortunately this MAY NOT count, question later)
- From Nov 2017- Jun 2018, as expected some casual workers left, some newcomers, but some worked consistently since the beginning, 1 or 2 even worked over 30 hours per week very often and sometimes flex up for the task of the Supervisor
- Late June 2018, The 2nd employee of Supervisor left and that consistent Team Member was promoted to take up the position with a formal full time contract, and still working at the position
- Since late June 2018, we signed a formal contract with an additional new Team Member and he consistently worked as a full time till now (over 30 hours per week).
- Late June 2018, as the operation of the store become stable, we woke up and re-signed formal permanent contracts with all existing Team Members (around 5-6), as we found that there is no difference at all on salary, holiday pay and benefits when compare to the casual agreement. The new employment contract states they have minimum of 4 hours to work per week, but they are not paid if they do not come to work. But they are eligible to holiday pay.
- As usual, since late June 2018 till now, some part-timers left and some new comers
- Till now, we are still maintaining 5-6 Team Members and it is expected the situation will continue. I totally understand whether these positions can be combined or counted depends on the calculation of their working hours per week and the accumulation throughout the last 14 months. It is hard to tell here as sometimes more come to work and sometimes less. These will be put in an excel table for further confirmation and calculation by solicitor. But at the moment I am quite sure that these part-timers could make up at least 2 full-time positions, no matter since November 2017 or June 2018
- Still 1.5 year before the Visa expire, we may have ability to hire one or two staff, most likely part-timers as Team Member as well
- I am also considering to set up another company to develop other business and could have the ability to hire some staff, the numbers will highly depends on how many headcounts I have already achieved

Here's the main questions:
Q1. As we are after the transition arrangement, we cannot combine 2 different part-time jobs to form a full time job. But is it similar to the extension requirements, we can still combine 2 or more part-time work hours of same position into one full time job, even for the accelerated route? (Remember they are in same title and job nature). I could not find any hints in the official guidance or discussion topics here, or even the guidelines for CW. So I just want to further clarify. This is essential if they were not counted, I only have 3 eligible headcounts at present.

Yes, you can combine 2 or more part-timers to make up a FT job. That has been specified in both extension and ILR requirements.

Q2. As stated above, do those employees or headcounts with casual agreements in the first 7 months count? In fact they were all paid as same as normal contract staff with official payslips, pay holidays and all HMRC forms filled. The only difference was the contract, of which the casual one stated "this is not an employment contract". I heard of some successful extension cases that they did not need to submit the employment contract. I could arrange those 2 or 3 staff who are still working here to sign a back dated permanent contract but I could not find those who left. If they are not counted or most likely not counted then it will be a big wastage.

There is no requirement to submit employment contracts. The immigration rules do not specify the type of contract. If those words are the only difference, I can't see why it would not be allowed even if the contracts were produced.

The key requirements are:
1. They are settled workers
2. They have been on the payroll with payment made on RTI with applicable NI paid.

Q3. As position 1 & 2 (Manager & Supervisor) have been existed for over 12 months, is it possible that we promote that 2 staff to a new position with new title, new contract and new but similar job description, so that 2 additional jobs are created? (In fact they were performing well and deserve a promotion) I know to some extent it is tricky but I could not find any clause or explanations in the guidance avoiding this, or saying this is invalid.

This is indeed tricky. If the same person in moved to a different job, I believe you would have a very good argument.

But a promotion just because of performance is unlikely to be accepted as a new job unless someone else was hired to continue in the old role. It is not as though an accountant was later given a marketing job.

Q4. Holiday Pay were made to all my staff (both casual & contracted). Does it mean that those days when they were absent or in holiday are still counted as an employee, so that I can add into the excel?

HO calculates hours with a simple formula of dividing gross pay in the RTI by the hourly rate that you declare in the form. Actual attendance is immaterial.

To sum up, I am quite sure by the end of June this year I will achieve 5 headcounts if I go for normal extension process. (1 manager, 1 supervisor, 1 consistent Team Member & 2 Part-time Team Members, all with formal employment contracts.) But this is just half way and at that time only 10 months to go. However, if there are more positive answers then I may now have accumulated 70% of the accelerated target and I still have around 15 months to achieve the rest 30%

I have done my best to explain my present situation and hope it is clear but feel free to ask any question for clarification.

Thank you very much for viewing and answering!

Thank you very much for your precise answers.

Q1: Appreciation of the confirmation. I believed ILR and extension share the same standard but there were too limited cases for ILR after the transition arrangement so caused me puzzled. Thank you!

Q2: Very happy to hear that. Yes, they were all settled workers and they have been on the payroll with payment made on RTI with applicable NI paid, also up to the standard of minimum wages

Q3: That's OK. This is only my last resort in my mind to fulfil the target. I will do my best to go for other ways as mentioned to reach the 10 headcounts first. Appreciated your explanation.

Q4: Again thank you to make me clear. But it will be perfect if you can further explain that formula, especially when it come to my situation of combining several part-timers. Also most of them where paid on fortnight basis. I just found in the excel that some part-timers were paid 59.5 hours in a particular fortnight period, of which 60 hours for 2 weeks should be a minimum. I heard of some solicitors make it very safe if that pay period did not pay for 60 or more hours, that week or 2 week were not counted. In other words. that position need to accumulate another 2 weeks to achieve the total 12 months target. So do you think that 59.5 paid hours can be calculated, or just forfeit them and wait and accumulate other 60+bi-weeks?

Once again, thank you so much!

[marcnath]

Q4: Again thank you to make me clear. But it will be perfect if you can further explain that formula, especially when it come to my situation of combining several part-timers. Also most of them where paid on fortnight basis. I just found in the excel that some part-timers were paid 59.5 hours in a particular fortnight period, of which 60 hours for 2 weeks should be a minimum. I heard of some solicitors make it very safe if that pay period did not pay for 60 or more hours, that week or 2 week were not counted. In other words. that position need to accumulate another 2 weeks to achieve the total 12 months target. So do you think that 59.5 paid hours can be calculated, or just forfeit them and wait and accumulate other 60+bi-weeks?

Once again, thank you so much!

Immigration rules only specifies that the requirements for FT as 30 hrs/week. There are no definitions for minimum per month or fortnight. The guidance refers to 130 hrs per month, which appears to be 30*52/12. I would assume HO to use a similar calculation if your payslips are fortnightly. They would then expect FT to be 30*52/24 or 65 hrs every fortnight. So it depends on how exactly you are paying. If pay period is 1st Jan to 15th Jan, then it would be 65 hrs needed. If it was 1st Jan to 13th Jan (2 weeks) then it would be 60 hrs.
59.5 would be considered part time. That much is very clear. You need to forfeit them or combine with another part time job to reach full time.

[Easykiller]

Q4: Again thank you to make me clear. But it will be perfect if you can further explain that formula, especially when it come to my situation of combining several part-timers. Also most of them where paid on fortnight basis. I just found in the excel that some part-timers were paid 59.5 hours in a particular fortnight period, of which 60 hours for 2 weeks should be a minimum. I heard of some solicitors make it very safe if that pay period did not pay for 60 or more hours, that week or 2 week were not counted. In other words. that position need to accumulate another 2 weeks to achieve the total 12 months target. So do you think that 59.5 paid hours can be calculated, or just forfeit them and wait and accumulate other 60+bi-weeks?

Once again, thank you so much!

Immigration rules only specifies that the requirements for FT as 30 hrs/week. There are no definitions for minimum per month or fortnight. The guidance refers to 130 hrs per month, which appears to be 30*52/12. I would assume HO to use a similar calculation if your payslips are fortnightly. They would then expect FT to be 30*52/24 or 65 hrs every fortnight. So it depends on how exactly you are paying. If pay period is 1st Jan to 15th Jan, then it would be 65 hrs needed. If it was 1st Jan to 13th Jan (2 weeks) then it would be 60 hrs.
59.5 would be considered part time. That much is very clear. You need to forfeit them or combine with another part time job to reach full time.

Thank you very much for the clear explanation. They are paid in every 2 weeks so should be on the 60 basis.

Just one more question: the manager post were paid monthly and the payslips did not state how many work hours (of course he/she actually worked over 48 hours per week according to the employment contract). In this case do you think we need to provide the employment contract for this post?

Thank you!

[marcnath]

Q4: Again thank you to make me clear. But it will be perfect if you can further explain that formula, especially when it come to my situation of combining several part-timers. Also most of them where paid on fortnight basis. I just found in the excel that some part-timers were paid 59.5 hours in a particular fortnight period, of which 60 hours for 2 weeks should be a minimum. I heard of some solicitors make it very safe if that pay period did not pay for 60 or more hours, that week or 2 week were not counted. In other words. that position need to accumulate another 2 weeks to achieve the total 12 months target. So do you think that 59.5 paid hours can be calculated, or just forfeit them and wait and accumulate other 60+bi-weeks?

Once again, thank you so much!

Immigration rules only specifies that the requirements for FT as 30 hrs/week. There are no definitions for minimum per month or fortnight. The guidance refers to 130 hrs per month, which appears to be 30*52/12. I would assume HO to use a similar calculation if your payslips are fortnightly. They would then expect FT to be 30*52/24 or 65 hrs every fortnight. So it depends on how exactly you are paying. If pay period is 1st Jan to 15th Jan, then it would be 65 hrs needed. If it was 1st Jan to 13th Jan (2 weeks) then it would be 60 hrs.
59.5 would be considered part time. That much is very clear. You need to forfeit them or combine with another part time job to reach full time.

Thank you very much for the clear explanation. They are paid in every 2 weeks so should be on the 60 basis.

Just one more question: the manager post were paid monthly and the payslips did not state how many work hours (of course he/she actually worked over 48 hours per week according to the employment contract). In this case do you think we need to provide the employment contract for this post?

Thank you!

I already explained how HO typically calculates the hours worked. Employment contracts are not a specified document and it is unlikely they will use it to determine hours worked.

[Easykiller]

Q4: Again thank you to make me clear. But it will be perfect if you can further explain that formula, especially when it come to my situation of combining several part-timers. Also most of them where paid on fortnight basis. I just found in the excel that some part-timers were paid 59.5 hours in a particular fortnight period, of which 60 hours for 2 weeks should be a minimum. I heard of some solicitors make it very safe if that pay period did not pay for 60 or more hours, that week or 2 week were not counted. In other words. that position need to accumulate another 2 weeks to achieve the total 12 months target. So do you think that 59.5 paid hours can be calculated, or just forfeit them and wait and accumulate other 60+bi-weeks?

Once again, thank you so much!

Immigration rules only specifies that the requirements for FT as 30 hrs/week. There are no definitions for minimum per month or fortnight. The guidance refers to 130 hrs per month, which appears to be 30*52/12. I would assume HO to use a similar calculation if your payslips are fortnightly. They would then expect FT to be 30*52/24 or 65 hrs every fortnight. So it depends on how exactly you are paying. If pay period is 1st Jan to 15th Jan, then it would be 65 hrs needed. If it was 1st Jan to 13th Jan (2 weeks) then it would be 60 hrs.
59.5 would be considered part time. That much is very clear. You need to forfeit them or combine with another part time job to reach full time.

Thank you very much for the clear explanation. They are paid in every 2 weeks so should be on the 60 basis.

Just one more question: the manager post were paid monthly and the payslips did not state how many work hours (of course he/she actually worked over 48 hours per week according to the employment contract). In this case do you think we need to provide the employment contract for this post?

Thank you!

I already explained how HO typically calculates the hours worked. Employment contracts are not a specified document and it is unlikely they will use it to determine hours worked.

Alright, it should be a minor issue and will seek advice from solicitor then. Thank you very much for the advice given. Very helpful!