Recruitment, Retention & the Sponsor Licence
This is a working draft. The headings below are the framework we will fill in. If you have material to contribute, please get in touch.
The sponsor licence picture in 2026
Skilled Worker visa rules for the care sector tightened in 2024 and again in 2025. Operators we speak to are now investing earlier in retention rather than treating sponsorship as the cheap-headcount lever it once was.
Agency cost cap
The 2024 cap is biting unevenly across regions. London and the South East operators say it has helped; tighter labour markets in the North East report shortfalls.
Retention pay levers that move the needle
Hourly base rate, length-of-service tiers, refer-a-friend, paid breaks, weekend and night-shift premiums. A few operators are now publishing their pay scale on their listing — it correlates with claim rate.
What we are still working on
A pay-scale comparator across operator size and CQC rating, sourced from claimed listings. Help us build it by claiming your listing and adding a pay range.