British and Irish citizens do not have a Student visa hours cap, but every employer must still complete a right-to-work check.
Jobs & rights / Student guide
Working in the UK, without guessing.
Know whether you can work, how many hours are allowed, what your employer must provide and how to avoid a job that puts your pay or immigration status at risk.
Work rights come from your citizenship or immigration permission—not the ‘home’ or ‘international’ label on your university account.
Start the guide ↓A qualifying Student visa usually allows 20 hours a week at degree level, 10 below degree level, or no work for other study categories during term time.
Lawfully employed students can have rights to minimum wage, paid holiday, rest breaks, payslips and protection from discrimination.
01 / Check your status first
Start with the permission you actually hold.
Two students on the same course can have different work rights. Check the legal status shown by your documents or online immigration record before accepting a shift.
British or Irish citizen
There is normally no immigration limit on your working hours. You still prove your right to work—usually with a British or Irish passport, passport card or another accepted document.
Settled or another work-permitting status
Settled status, pre-settled status, indefinite leave, right of abode and some other permissions can allow work. Use the exact conditions shown in your digital status or documents; do not rely on your university fee category.
Student or another time-limited visa
Read the work conditions on your eVisa or decision information. Student permission can cap hours and types of work; other visas have their own rules.
02 / Check your status first
The Student visa limit is weekly, not an average.
For a Student visa, one week runs from Monday to Sunday. Add together every paid job and any voluntary work that counts as work; an employer cannot average a quiet week against a busy one.
20 hours
Usually the maximum during term time for a full-time degree-level or higher course sponsored by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance, and for qualifying overseas study-abroad programmes.
10 hours
Usually the maximum during term time for a full-time course below degree level sponsored by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance.
No work
All other Student study categories—including part-time study and courses with providers that do not meet the relevant sponsor condition—normally have no employment permission. The condition shown by your own status is decisive.
03 / Check your status first
Use your university’s dates, not your assumptions.
Students whose permission allows term-time work can normally work full time during official vacations and certain periods before or after a course. The dates must come from the sponsoring education provider.
Get dates in writing
Save an official university letter, email or webpage showing your course’s term and vacation dates. Give the evidence to your employer when moving to full-time hours.
Postgraduate warning
A summer dissertation, research period or writing-up period may still be term time. Do not assume the undergraduate calendar applies to a taught master’s or research degree.
Placements are separate
An integral, assessed work placement that meets the immigration rules is treated separately from ordinary term-time employment. Ask your course team for the placement letter before starting.
04 / Check your status first
Some work is prohibited even when hours are available.
Keeping below 20 or 10 hours is not enough. Student permission also restricts the kind of role you can take.
No normal freelancing or self-employment
Do not register as a sole trader, invoice a client, run a trading business, become a company director or accept a role described as self-employed unless the narrow Innovator Founder application exception applies and you have specialist confirmation.
Restricted occupations
Student permission does not allow work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach, or as an entertainer.
No permanent full-time vacancy
You normally cannot fill a permanent full-time role while on Student permission. Limited exceptions apply after a valid Skilled Worker or Graduate application at the permitted stage.
05 / Check your status first
A student job is still a real job.
Immigration limits can restrict whether you work; they do not give an employer permission to ignore employment law. Your precise rights also depend on whether the law treats you as a worker, employee or genuinely self-employed person.
Minimum pay in 2026
From 1 April 2026 the legal minimum is £12.71 an hour for age 21+, £10.85 for ages 18–20, and £8.00 for ages 16–17. The apprentice rate is £8.00 when its conditions apply.
Payslip, holiday and breaks
Workers are generally entitled to an itemised payslip, the minimum wage, paid annual leave and rest breaks. Part-time workers should not be treated less favourably simply because they work fewer hours.
Safe and fair treatment
Protection from unlawful discrimination covers recruitment, pay and workplace treatment. Employment-law routes differ in Northern Ireland, where the Labour Relations Agency and Equality Commission provide local guidance.
06 / Check your status first
Prepare the proof before your first shift.
A genuine employer checks your right to work before employment begins and gives you clear information about the job, pay and deductions.
Right-to-work evidence
British and Irish citizens usually use accepted documents. Other students can normally use a right-to-work share code or eligible immigration documents. A share code for work begins with W.
National Insurance number
Apply once you are in the UK if you need one. You can start work before the number arrives if you can prove your right to work; never pay a private person to ‘sell’ you a number.
Tax and payslips
Students can pay Income Tax and National Insurance. Your employer normally deducts them through PAYE. Give a P45 or starter checklist, then check the hours, rate, tax code and deductions on every payslip.
07 / Check your status first
Know the signs of a bad student job.
A rushed offer is not worth unpaid wages, stolen identity details or a visa breach. Slow the process down and verify the employer.
Get the basics in writing
Ask for the employer’s legal name, workplace, duties, hourly rate, expected hours, pay date, holiday arrangement and who controls the rota.
Never pay for a job
Walk away from upfront recruitment fees, demands to move money through your account, requests for one-time codes, or cheque and refund schemes.
Keep your own record
Save rotas, clock-in records, messages and payslips. If something goes wrong, speak to your employer and university; Acas supports Great Britain and the Labour Relations Agency supports Northern Ireland.
Compare / decide
Which work rule is likely to apply?
Use this only as an orientation. Check your own right-to-work evidence before accepting employment.
| Your position | Typical position | What to check first |
|---|---|---|
| British or Irish citizen | No immigration hours cap | Accepted passport or other right-to-work documents |
| Settled, pre-settled, indefinite leave or other unrestricted permission | No Student visa cap if your status allows unrestricted work | eVisa, share code, conditions and any expiry date |
| Student visa / qualifying degree-level study | Up to 20 hours each Monday–Sunday in term time | eVisa result, sponsor status and official term dates |
| Student visa / qualifying below-degree study | Up to 10 hours each Monday–Sunday in term time | eVisa result, sponsor status and official term dates |
| Other Student study category or short-term study | Employment may be prohibited | The exact work condition on your permission |
| Graduate or another visa | Different rules apply | The conditions of that immigration route |
Optional saved progress
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Official sources
Check the source, not the rumour.
Rules, fees and eligibility can change. These links take you to the organisations responsible for the guidance.
Home Office — Immigration Rules Appendix Student↗Home Office — employer right-to-work guide and Student limits↗GOV.UK — prove your right to work↗GOV.UK — 2026 minimum wage rates↗GOV.UK — student jobs and tax↗GOV.UK — apply for a National Insurance number↗GOV.UK — rights of workers↗GOV.UK — paid holiday entitlement↗Acas — workplace advice in Great Britain↗Labour Relations Agency — workplace advice in Northern Ireland↗