What is rolling salary compliance?
Sponsored worker salary compliance is assessed on a rolling three-month basis, not just at the point the CoS is assigned. Across any three consecutive months, a sponsored worker's actual earnings must meet the minimum salary threshold for their SOC code and the overall Skilled Worker minimum. Short dips in any one month (for example due to sickness absence) are acceptable, but if the rolling three-month average falls below the threshold, this is a compliance breach.
How to monitor it
Use your payroll system to track each sponsored worker's gross earnings month by month. At the end of each month, check the previous three months together against the current minimum. Flag any worker whose rolling average is trending down before they fall below threshold.
What counts toward the threshold
Only guaranteed, regular contractual pay counts. Overtime, weekend uplifts, and discretionary bonuses do not count toward meeting the minimum salary. Holiday pay must be paid at the contracted rate (not the lowest applicable rate) and does count.
If a worker falls below
If a sponsored worker's rolling three-month earnings fall below the applicable minimum, contact Borderless immediately. Depending on the cause you may need to report a change of circumstance, adjust the worker's contract, or assign a new CoS at a higher salary.
Government guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sponsor-a-skilled-worker#paying-your-workers
Update: new pay period rules from 8 April 2026
A change to the Immigration Rules (new paragraph SW 14.3B of Appendix Skilled Worker) came into force on 8 April 2026. It applies to workers whose Certificate of Sponsorship was assigned on or after that date. Applications made on a CoS assigned before 8 April 2026 are normally assessed under the previous rules described above.
Under the new rules, two tests apply and both must be met. First, the salary paid in each individual pay period must meet the going rate for the hours actually worked in that period. Second, where a worker is paid monthly or less frequently, the salary paid over any three-month period must be at least one quarter of the required annual salary. A shortfall in one pay period can no longer be averaged away across the year.
If a worker has worked their contracted hours with no absence but still falls short, check two things: whether the hourly rate on the CoS multiplied by contracted weekly hours actually clears the required annual salary, and whether paying for actual hours worked each calendar month (rather than an equalised monthly salary of annual salary divided by 12) is creating month to month fluctuations. Moving to equalised monthly pay removes this variation, provided the worker still receives at least their contractual annual salary. Where contracted hours genuinely vary under an agreed working pattern, the rules contain limited provisions for averaging hours over a 17-week reference period.
If you cannot pay a sponsored worker their full salary in a pay period, for example because of cash flow, this may amount to a compliance breach for that period even if you pay the balance later. Identify the exact shortfall for each affected worker, document the reason, amounts and dates, and contact Borderless immediately. Salary reductions during genuine statutory absences such as sick leave or family leave remain subject to separate provisions in the rules.
Government guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sponsor-a-skilled-worker#paying-your-workers