Engaging a worker on a Student visa

Students with the Tier 4 visa or the new Student visa are generally restricted to working no more than 20 hours per week during term time. However, undergraduate term dates do not apply to postgraduate students, as they are ‘in term’ throughout their studies until the official course end date. The student registry must authorise any ‘vacation’ from studies. During this vacation, postgraduate students can work additional hours.

It is the responsibility of both the student and the person overseeing their employment to ensure that hours are not exceeded each week. The limit applies to the total number of hours worked each week and not the number of hours worked per job. When candidates complete their Right to Work check with the Employment and Recruitment Service, they must inform us of any other employment they have and the number of hours worked each week elsewhere. These hours are included in the calculation of their total number of hours a week. Therefore, hiring managers must be vigilant in asking workers on a visa of their other employments before scheduling their work.

Please note that the Employment and Recruitment Service observe the week-long restriction on a Monday-Sunday basis as opposed to within any seven day period. A statement by Human Resources regarding the recruitment of workers on Tier 4 visas can be found here.