Why this matters
A sponsored worker can only legally perform the role described on their Certificate of Sponsorship under the SOC code on that CoS. If the role changes substantively, or if the worker was sponsored under the wrong SOC code in the first place, a new CoS and a new visa application are required before the worker can perform the new role.
This is one of the highest-risk compliance areas the Home Office reviews on audit. Performing duties outside the CoS SOC code is treated as serious non-compliance and can lead to licence revocation.
When a new CoS is definitely required
A new CoS and visa application are required where:
The worker was sponsored under an incorrect SOC code (for example a Registered Nurse sponsored under 6136 Senior Carer rather than 2237)
The worker is being promoted into a role under a different SOC code (for example Care Worker promoted to Senior Carer)
The worker's duties have changed substantively such that the original SOC code no longer best describes the role
Where the wrong SOC code was used, the worker must cease all duties under the incorrect code with immediate effect. They cannot continue working in that capacity until a new CoS has been assigned and the new visa has been approved. Continuing to allow them to work in the role is treated as non-compliance by both employer and worker.
When a new CoS may not be required
If duties are being added or expanded but the role still falls within the original SOC code, a new CoS may not be needed. Examples include adding training delivery responsibilities, taking on care plan reviews, or absorbing additional client liaison duties, where the role remains predominantly the original sponsored role.
The test is whether the SOC code description still best describes what the worker actually does day to day. Borderless will assess this against an updated job description before confirming. Send the updated job description through the platform and request an SOC code assessment before making the change.
What to do if you discover a SOC code error
Contact Borderless immediately. The remediation steps are time-critical:
Suspend the worker from any duties that fall outside the current CoS SOC code
Provide a corrected job description and the correct SOC code
Submit a new offer through the Borderless platform so a new CoS request and visa application can be prepared
Continue paying the worker at their CoS rate during this period if they are still on payroll
What about adding new responsibilities (training, audits, in-house assessments)?
If a worker is being asked to take on training delivery, in-house assessments, audits, or similar duties for a portion of their working week, you should send the updated job description to Borderless before the change takes effect. We will assess whether the additional duties remain within the existing SOC code or whether they push the role into a different SOC code, in which case a new CoS will be needed.
From 8 April 2026, even where new duties remain within the same SOC code, the change of duties is itself a reportable change of circumstance under the new specific-job-description rules. Send any material change to Borderless promptly.
Government guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/workers-and-temporary-workers-sponsor-a-skilled-worker
One CoS covers one occupation code
A Certificate of Sponsorship records a single occupation code. Where a job genuinely spans two occupations, for example a role that is part Senior Care Worker and part Registered Nurse, you cannot blend the two onto one CoS. The code has to be the one that best describes what the worker actually does day to day, and the worker has to be doing that job from the start rather than building up to it.
If a candidate holds a nursing registration but there is no nursing vacancy to fill yet, the practical options are to sponsor them in the role you can genuinely offer now under the code that matches it, or to wait until a nursing post exists and sponsor them into that. Sponsoring someone as a nurse on the basis that they will grow into it is not compliant, and a later change of occupation code means a new CoS and a new visa application, not a change of circumstance report.
Working out the salary when hours are above or below 37.5
Going rates in Appendix Skilled Occupations are set against a 37.5 hour week and are pro-rated to the hours you are contracting. The calculation is the published going rate for the occupation code, multiplied by the weekly hours you have stated, divided by 37.5. Contracting more hours therefore raises the going rate you have to beat, it does not give you headroom against the published figure.
Only 48 hours a week count towards the salary calculation, however many hours the contract sets. A worker on 60 hours a week at £15 an hour is treated as earning £37,440 a year (£15 x 48 x 52), not £46,800. Where hours vary, weeks above 48 can still count provided the average across a regular cycle of no more than 17 weeks stays within 48 hours a week.
Two things are easy to confuse here. NHS Agenda for Change pay bands are a pay scale you may choose to benchmark against, and they are also built on a 37.5 hour week, but they are not the compliance test. The test is the going rate published for the occupation code in Appendix Skilled Occupations, pro-rated as above, alongside the general salary threshold. Check both against the code you are actually using.