Help! Pay rate for ILR. SOC 6146 SENIOR CARER

[Landing]

Help please!
My Girlfriend is applying for ILR. (set O)
She is a Senior Carer earning £7.45 an hour contracted for 44 hours: Salary. £17045
This is above the rate for SOC 6146 (home office appendix J New entrant: £11,400, Experienced worker: £15,800)

Her employer has been asked to say (at the end of their letter confirming her contract): "These earnings comply with the requirements of SOC 6146"
They are not sure that they can do that because they think the rate for SOC 6146 is now £7.80 per hour??
Anybody got any idea what they are talking about.
The home office PDF quoting £15,800 is dated 1 October 2013.
Any ideas?
Help!

[manci]

Unfortunately your girlfriend's pay is below the minimum required by Appendix J.

For SOC code 6146 the minimum is £15,800 for an experienced worker for a 39 hour week and pro-rating this to the 44 hours your girlferind works she would need a minimum of:

44/39 *£15,800 = £17,826 (which she doesn't earn at present)

On her salary of £17,045 to comply with Appednix J her weekly working hours would need to be reduced from 44 to 42. Then the minimum would become:

42/39*£15,800 = 17,016 (and she earns more)

Alternatively, of course, her pay could be increased from £17,045 to £17,826 for the 44 hour week she works.

Putting it in a different way the Appendix J requirement is £15,800/39/52 = £7.80/hour minimum.

Note that for the ILR application she would only need to start complying with the Appednix J requirements shortly before she makes the application.

[Landing]

Ah.....Thank you. I have been studying Appendix J and the penny has finally dropped in my head.
At least we have a few weeks to sort something out.
I am very grateful for your reply.

[Landing]

I spoke to the Immigration advisor who told my girlfriend that her earnings were OK.
It was a very bad line but he said:
"She is on a 5 year work permit under the old rules - Not under Tier 2. Under the old rules the rate threshold is £7.20 and not £7.80"

manci - Does this make any sense to you and can you comment please. Does anyone have any links that might help me??
Thank You!

[manci]

see Immigration Rule 134(iv)
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/polic ... les/part5/

[Landing]

Thank you manci.
I am now studying everything I can find online.

Now have 2 options I think.
1. Persuade her employer that she is a valuable employee and that she is worth a pay rise to £7.80 to solve the problem!
or
2. Go ahead with the ILR application a few weeks from now (premium service) and argue that her current pay meets the rules applicable to her 5 year work permit.

manci - I don't know if you are a solicitor but I would be grateful if you could indicate if you think the second option has No Chance, Some Chance or Good Chance!
In the meantime I am studying the stickys on this page and the test cases mentioned.
Thanks

[Landing]

http://www.google.co.uk/url?q=http://&s ... 1Vy7zUU1Q>

Does this pdf briefing (from http://www.nicem.org.uk/) solve my problem?

Those who entered
on a work permit and then switched to Tier 2 will fall under the transitional arrangements
and will need to be paid a salary of £7.02 per hour.

[Landing]

Oh my goodness - Look at this please anybody with an interest. This is a pdf briefing note from nicem.org.uk/

http://tinyurl.com/q83men4

"For senior care workers who have only held a Tier 2 visa, this will be £7.80 per hour. Those who entered on a work permit and then switched to Tier 2 will fall under the transitional arrangements and will need to be paid a salary of £7.02 per hour."

Does this solve my problem? Why are Senior Carers being refused and then having to appeal??