Workers and one-offs are hired on an irregular basis for a short period of time, provided they have the right to work in the UK. Employers may engage visa holders on a casual basis, but should be aware that different UK visas have different conditions. In some cases, a particular visa poses work restrictions or limits the types of work the visa holder can do.

Human Resources and Payroll undertake checks to ensure that all workers have a valid right to work check and that Tier 4 visa holders are not exceeding the maximum hours imposed by their visa.

EMPLOYING WORKERS WITH UK VISAS (EXCEPT TIER 4 / STUDENT)

An employing department must check the right to work of all workers before their employment starts.

If the individual is a List A document holder (please see table below), they have no restriction on the type of work they can do, or their weekly working hours.

• British Citizen;
• UK resident nationals from an EEA member state or Switzerland;
• Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) visa holder (this must be in a valid passport or BRP)

If the casual worker is a List B document holder, there may be some work restrictions that apply. Please see the table below for more information.

Selection of List B visas  - Work restrictions to consider when employing on casual basis
Visa type	Work restriction
Global Talent/Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa	No work restrictions - Except cannot work as a doctor or dentist in training or professional sports person/coach
Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa	No work restrictions - Except cannot work as a doctor or dentist in training or professional sports person/coach
Tier 2 (General) / Skilled Worker visa	Permitted to work up to 20 hours per week as supplementary employment. Several additional restrictions apply.
Tier 4 / Student visa holder	Normally restricted to working 20 hours per week.
Tier 5 (Sponsored researcher) visa holder	Permitted to work up to 20 hours per week as supplementary employment. Several additional restrictions apply.
Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) visa holder	No work restrictions - Except cannot work as a doctor or dentist in training or professional sports person/coach
PBS Dependant visa holder Family member of Global Talent/2/4 or 5 visa holder	No work restrictions - Except cannot work as a doctor or dentist in training or professional sports person/coach
UK Ancestry	No work restrictions - Except cannot work as a doctor or dentist in training or professional sports person/coach

One-off and irregular pay requests will not be processed for individuals with incorrect or incomplete right to work information, or where there are questions over Tier 4 / Student visa hours. If pay is stopped HR will inform the department why this has happened and a correct casual payment request will need to be resubmitted in the following month.

If you have any questions about employing someone or their visa please speak with HR before a job offer is made and any work is undertaken. 

International Visitors

If you intend to invite someone to Queen Mary to undertake any work please ensure that they apply for the correct visa prior to their arrival in the UK.

• If they are coming for one off work or deliver a short series of lectures then they should consider a Permited Paid Engagement visa.
• If they are coming to take part in collaborative researcher then they will require sponsorship under Tier 5.

 

Please refer to the International Visitor section for more information.