Supplementary and secondary employment on a skilled worker visa

Welcome to our immigration blog. This blog will explain supplementary and secondary employment in the skilled worker visa route.

What is supplementary employment?

In addition to the job specified on the certificate of sponsorship (CoS), a Skilled Worker’s conditions allow them to do extra work if it is:

• in either a job in the Appendix Shortage Occupation List or a job in the same occupation code as the job for which the CoS was assigned
• no more than 20 hours a week
• outside the working hours covered by the CoS If the Skilled Worker is sponsored in an occupation code eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa, they can do unlimited extra work in a job which would be eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa. This exception only applies to extra work done before 27 August 2023.

If the extra work meets the above requirements, the applicant does not need to inform the Home Office before taking extra work.

What is secondary employment under the skilled worker route?

A Skilled Worker can apply to do a second (additional) job that does not qualify as supplementary employment. For example, it requires more than 20 hours of work a week and is not a job that is eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa. They will need a new CoS for this second job and must apply for a variation of permission, in addition to the certificate and permission for their existing job. This is because
working in the second job is not covered by their existing conditions.