8134 — Water and sewerage plant operatives

SOC 2020 code 8134 (Water and sewerage plant operatives) is an eligible occupation for the UK Skilled Worker visa. The 2026 minimum salary threshold for this code is £38,000 per year.

Key facts

SOC 2020 code

8134

Job title

Water and sewerage plant operatives

2026 going rate (annual)

£38,000

Route eligibility

Skilled Worker (and Health & Care Worker where applicable)

SOC 2020 classification

Every four-digit SOC 2020 code sits inside a three-level parent hierarchy maintained by the Office for National Statistics. Water and sewerage plant operatives belongs to:

1. 8

   Major group

   PROCESS, PLANT AND MACHINE OPERATIVES

2. 81

   Sub-major group

   PROCESS, PLANT, MACHINE AND CONSTRUCTION OPERATIVES

3. 813

   Minor group

   Plant and Machine Operatives

4. 8134

   Unit group

   Water and sewerage plant operatives

Source: ONS Standard Occupational Classification 2020, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Finding sponsors hiring for this code

Sponsors do not publish their per-SOC hiring plans in the public register — they only publish the visa routes they hold a licence for. To find sponsors who realistically recruit for water and sewerage plant operatives:

1. Use the search box to look for employers in your sector that hold a Skilled Worker licence.
2. Filter by Skilled Worker or, where applicable, Health & Care Worker.
3. Apply through each sponsor’s standard recruitment channel and ask early whether the role is open to sponsorship.

Related reading

• How SOC 2020 codes work
• 2026 salary thresholds — full breakdown

SOC 2020 reference data is refreshed annually from ONS each April. Salary thresholds are reviewed annually by the Migration Advisory Committee and re-ingested at the same time. Always verify against the original GOV.UK / ONS publications before relying on this information for a visa application.