The four-week cumulative limit
A sponsor must normally stop sponsoring a worker who is absent from their sponsored work without pay, or on reduced pay, for more than four weeks in total in any calendar year, running from 1 January to 31 December. It is a calendar year rather than a rolling twelve-month period. This includes extended unpaid absences, unpaid sabbaticals, and prolonged unpaid sickness absence beyond contractual sick pay. The four weeks is cumulative, not continuous, so short unpaid absences across the year add up.
What counts as unpaid leave
Any period where the worker is absent and not receiving their normal salary counts toward the four-week total. This includes:
Unpaid leave requested by the worker
Unpaid sickness absence once contractual sick pay has ended
Suspension without pay
Any career break or sabbatical not covered by salary
Paid statutory leave does not count
Annual leave, statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, and parental bereavement leave do not count toward the four-week limit, even though some of these may be at statutory (rather than full) pay.
Important: Workers on minimum salary thresholds
If a worker is paid exactly at the minimum salary threshold stated on their Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), any unpaid leave that reduces their monthly gross pay below that threshold must be reported to the Home Office as a change of circumstance. For example, if a worker earns exactly the CoS minimum monthly rate and takes a single unpaid day off, their pay for that month will fall below the CoS salary requirement and this must be flagged. Keep detailed records of any underpayment and report each occurrence through the Changes of Circumstance process on Borderless.
If a worker exceeds four weeks
If a sponsored worker's unpaid leave exceeds four weeks in total in a calendar year, this must be reported to Borderless so we can notify the Home Office. Failure to report can result in sponsor licence compliance action.
Time off because a dependant is unwell
Time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependant, such as a child falling ill or a care arrangement breaking down, is a separate statutory right from sick leave. Statutory Sick Pay does not apply, because SSP covers the employee's own illness. The right is to a reasonable amount of time off, with no set number of days, and it only covers genuine emergencies rather than situations the employee knew about in advance. An employer may pay for it but is not obliged to.
Carer's Leave is a different entitlement again: up to one week in any twelve months, unpaid, available from an employee's first day, for caring for a dependant with a long term care need.
For sponsorship, what matters is whether the time off is paid. Paid time off has no effect on the four week limit. Unpaid time off counts towards it, so treat dependants leave and Carer's Leave the same way as any other unpaid absence and record it.
How the four weeks converts to days
The four weeks is measured against the worker's own normal working pattern, not a flat number of days. A worker who normally works five days a week has 20 working days. A worker on three days a week has 12. A worker on four days a week has 16. Multiply their normal working days per week by four.
Certain absences are excluded from the count, including statutory maternity, paternity, parental, shared parental, adoption and neonatal care leave, sick leave, jury service, attending court as a witness, legally organised industrial action, and assisting with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis where the sponsor agreed to the absence for that purpose.
What to keep on file
Record the dates of every absence, whether it was paid or unpaid, and the reason. Where an absence is unpaid or on reduced pay, keep the written request or authorisation alongside the payslips covering the period, so the reduction in pay is explained on the file rather than looking like an unreported drop below the CoS salary. These records are reviewable at a compliance check and must be produced on request.