New visa rules for overseas somms

Overseas sommeliers will have trouble getting UK visas under new minimum wage requirements.

Sommeliers are included on the UK shortage occupation list and historically have been able to get a visa to work in the UK, but changes to minimum wage thresholds threaten to price them out.

This week (9 April 2024) the minimum wage that shortage workers need to earn has risen by £12,700 a year to £38,700. Employment agency Glassdoor, said that the average base salary for a London based sommelier is between £23,000 to £32,000, meaning the changes will make recruiting sommeliers from overseas much less likely.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, told Harpers The latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that 44% of hospitality businesses are still experiencing staff shortages. The government’s recent decision to increase the minimum salary threshold for skilled workers means that virtually all hospitality businesses will struggle to recruit international talent.

According to recent research, more than 90% of the 8,500 migrants recruited in the hospitality sector last year would not qualify under the new £38,700 threshold.