New job codes finally come into effect - but create a new problem for clinical engineers

24/04/2024

MORE than four years after IPEM lobbied for changes to be made to the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes they have finally been implemented.

As of 1 April, the new SOC codes came into effect - but a new issue relating specifically to clinical engineers has emerged.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reviews and updates the codes every decade, so the current codes are now likely to be used for at least the next 10 years.

Lobbying by Dr Jemimah Eve, IPEM’s Director of Policy and Impact, and the then IPEM President Professor Stephen O’Connor, led the ONS to change the SOC for the 2020 edition to be "2259 Other health professionals N.E.C. (not elsewhere classified)", a much more suitable classification than previously, as it confirmed medical physicists’ status as healthcare professionals, essential to the provision of a cutting-edge healthcare service.

The clinical engineers code was also changed at the same time to SOC2020 group "2129: Engineering Professionals N.E.C." While IPEM believed this was an acceptable coding, a better coding would have been under the health professionals N.E.C., reflecting clinical engineers’ status as another essential profession for the provision of a modern healthcare service, but that change was never made.

Immigration Salary List

Only days after the SOC codes came into effect, the Home Office published the Immigration Salary List (ISL), which provides a list of jobs in the UK for the Skilled Worker Visa and the Health and Care Visa.

The ISL has raised the general salary threshold for the Skilled Worker route from £26,200 to £38,700, unless they are on a Health and Care Worker (H&CW) visa, in which case it would be £29,000. As clinical engineers do not have a health professionals SOC code, they are not eligible for the H&CW visa.

This has the potential to have a particular impact on radiation/linac engineers from abroad who want to relocate to the UK who will fall short of the salary threshold.

Dr Eve said: ‘It is great that the new codes have finally been implemented and to see our lobbying paid off for them to be changed.

‘We could not, however, have foreseen the changes that were being made to the Skilled Worker Visa and therefore we will continue to lobby on behalf of all clinical engineers to be included, irrespective of the code.’