SW 14.3B Pay Period Compliance: The UK Visa 48-Hour Rule Explained

The most significant compliance change introduced on April 8, 2026, was not a new threshold — it was a new enforcement mechanism. Immigration Rules Paragraph SW 14.3B transformed how UKVI assesses salary compliance from a snapshot of the annual contract figure to a real-time audit of every single pay period. For employers and workers who relied on year-end bonuses or fluctuating variable pay to meet the minimum threshold on paper, the implications are severe.

What Changed on April 8, 2026

Before SW 14.3B, UKVI assessed salary compliance primarily against the annualized figure on the employment contract. If the contract stated a salary of £45,000, the application was assessed against that number, even if actual monthly payslips showed inconsistencies.

Under SW 14.3B, UKVI now actively examines payroll records to verify that the required minimum salary is met in every discrete pay period — each month for monthly-paid workers, each week for weekly-paid workers. If a worker's pay drops below the required threshold in any single pay period for any reason, the sponsor is immediately in breach of their legal duties.

This change eliminates the ability to average out variable earnings over a 12-month period. An annual salary of £48,000 that appears compliant on paper can fail the SW 14.3B test if one month's pay — reduced by unpaid sick leave, a variable commission payment that wasn't made, or reduced hours — drops below the per-period equivalent of the threshold.

What the 48-Hour Rule Means

The 48-hour cap is a related but distinct rule. When UKVI assesses whether a Skilled Worker meets the general salary threshold (£41,700), it counts only the salary attributable to the first 48 hours of work per week. Any salary earned through hours worked beyond 48 per week is disregarded entirely.

To illustrate: a worker contracted for 50 hours per week at a salary of £44,000 appears to be above the £41,700 general threshold. But the Home Office strips out the salary for the hours above 48 per week. If two of the 50 contracted hours are above the 48-hour cap, approximately 4% of the salary is excluded — dropping the assessed figure to approximately £42,240. The application still clears in this example, but the margin is narrower than the headline salary suggests.

The practical consequence: contracts with high hour counts that are structured to reach the threshold only by counting all hours can fail the 48-hour cap test. The base salary must be sufficient to clear the threshold on the first 48 hours alone.

Important: The 48-hour cap applies only when assessing against the general salary threshold (£41,700). For the occupation-specific going rate test, the pro-rata calculation based on contracted hours applies separately — the going rates are set against a 37.5-hour baseline, and hours above 37.5 require a proportional increase in the going rate.

What Counts Toward the Salary Threshold

Only guaranteed basic gross pay counts for compliance purposes under SW 14.3B and related rules. The following are excluded:

• Performance bonuses (discretionary or otherwise)
• Overtime payments — even contractually agreed overtime
• Commission payments
• Tips and gratuities
• Benefits-in-kind (company car, private medical, gym membership)
• Expense reimbursements
• Shift premiums and unsocial hours allowances

If a worker's base salary is £38,000 and their annual bonus reliably brings them to £44,000, they do not meet the £41,700 threshold for Skilled Worker compliance. The threshold must be met by guaranteed basic pay alone, in every pay period.

How SW 14.3B Creates Compliance Risk for Employers

The pay-period rule places a new operational burden on sponsors. Previously, a salary above the threshold on the contract was broadly sufficient. Now, sponsors must ensure that payroll administration never allows a worker's actual pay in any period to drop below the required amount.

Scenarios that create SW 14.3B breach risk:

Unpaid leave. A worker takes unpaid sick leave or unpaid holiday during a month. Their monthly salary falls below the 1/12th equivalent of the annual threshold. Unless the contract explicitly guarantees payment at the minimum required rate regardless of unpaid leave events, the sponsor may be in breach.

Variable shift patterns. Workers on annualized hours contracts, zero-hours arrangements, or variable shift patterns can have months where their actual hours worked — and therefore their actual pay — are below the threshold equivalent.

Salary sacrifice schemes. Pension contributions via salary sacrifice or childcare voucher schemes deduct from gross pay. If the deduction brings the pay period gross below the threshold, the compliance test is breached.

Payroll errors. An underpayment corrected in the following month creates a breach in the underpayment period. UKVI assesses each period independently; a corrective payment in period two does not retroactively cure the shortfall in period one.

What Sponsors Need to Do

To comply with SW 14.3B, sponsors should:

1. Audit contracted salary against the threshold per pay period. For monthly-paid workers, £41,700 ÷ 12 = £3,475 per month (or the applicable going rate equivalent, whichever is higher). The employee's guaranteed basic pay in each month must clear this floor.

2. Remove variable pay from threshold calculations. If the current salary is structured to meet the threshold only when including bonuses or commission, the base salary needs to be increased to meet it from guaranteed pay alone.

3. Review unpaid leave policies. Consider whether employment contracts need to be restructured to guarantee minimum pay in periods of short-term absence, or whether HR processes need to flag Skilled Worker workers before processing unpaid leave that would breach the threshold.

4. Monitor for salary sacrifice deductions. Ensure that Skilled Worker employees' gross pay after any salary sacrifice arrangements still meets the threshold in every period.

For Workers: Protecting Yourself

Workers themselves should understand that a sponsor's compliance failure can result in visa curtailment — even if the worker had nothing to do with the underlying payroll issue. If a sponsor loses their licence due to repeated SW 14.3B breaches, affected workers typically receive a 60-day notice period to find a new sponsor or leave the UK.

If you notice your payslip showing a reduced amount due to variable shifts, unpaid leave, or any other cause, and you are a Skilled Worker visa holder, flag this immediately with your employer's HR team. The obligation to comply lies with the sponsor, but the consequences affect you directly.

The UK Skilled Worker Visa Guide includes a salary compliance tracker covering the dual threshold test, the 48-hour cap, the pro-rata calculation, and the SW 14.3B per-period framework — in a single checklist format that both applicants and HR teams can use before and during the visa period.