Appendix J Unintended Oversight - 39 hour/40 hour week

[ECOTROT]

I noticed that there appears to be an oversight in Appendix J when it comes to what number of hours the appropriate salary rates in the Code are based on. I wasn't sure that anyone else would care, because it's pretty trivial and silly, but I decided to post it anyway in case anyone else was interested. It seems to me employers can pay migrant workers slightly less than the rules intended.

Here's why:

Appendix J

Appropriate salary rates
14. Where these Rules state that an applicant must be paid the appropriate rate for a job as set
out in this Appendix, the rate will be determined as follows:

...

(e) The rates stated are per year and are based on the following weekly hours:
(i) Where the source is the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2011, a 39-hour week;
(ii) Where the source is NHS Agenda for Change or the Royal Institute of British Architects, a 37.5-hour week;
(iii) Where the source is teachers' national pay scales, on the definition of a full-time teacher as used when determining those pay scales;
(iv)where the source is the National Grid submission to the Migration Advisory Committee, a 37-hour week;
(v) In all other cases, a 40-hour week.

As some of you may know, the 04/14 Codes of practice are worded slightly differently. These state:

The rates are based on a 39-hour working week for all occupations where the salary source used is the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

You may notice that '2011' has been omitted, as the new rates are now based on the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2013.

So, when it comes to salaries based on the 2013 Survey, which is it? 39 or 40?!

Well, Appendix J must take precedence, so it technically is 'all other cases', as the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2011 was not used. This means it is 40 hours, and so employers can get away with paying marginally less then was intended when the new Codes were published.


Incidentally, in fact the 2013 Survey did use a 39 hour week as the basis for the salaries, but the Immigration Rules have not been amended yet. This is obviously an oversight which will at some point be addressed, and the '2011' removed from Appendix J.

However, it still hasn't changed. And I know for a fact that the Tier 2 team has known about this for a while.

Totally a silly, boring and irrelevant post. Sorry about that. But hey, it made me smile