Bear in mind that when applying for ILR under a employer sponsored immigration category, there are several requirements which are associated with absences but are none-the-less seperate in nature. Many applicants appear to confuse them:
1) Meeting the 180 day annual absence threshold counting back from your application date.
2) All annual leave and business related absences while employed under a employer sponsored immigration category must be confirmed by an employer letter, irrespective of the number of absences.
3) No discretion is applied if the absences exceed the allowed absence threshold, unless the absences were due to serious or compelling compassionate reasons. Therefore absences due to employment/business do not qualify for discretion.
4) Meeting the terms of your sponsorship. This is generally verified by the UKBA using your Employment History or P60's for that period. E.g. if you were not employed/paid in the UK during part of your WP/T2 LTR grant, you may not meet the terms of original sponsorship.
5) There are rules around how much unpaid leave is allowed when employed under an employer sponsored immigration category. See
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary
228. If the reduction in the migrant‟s salary is due to them taking a period of unpaid leave in excess of one month, other than for the reasons in paragraph 227 a) or 227 b), you cannot continue to sponsor them. If a sponsored migrant wishes to take a longer period of other unpaid leave, for example a sabbatical, you must stop sponsoring them and report this to us via your SMS account.