ILR - Finance Question

Dear Visa Gurus,
We are about to submit my wife's ILR application but got bogged down at this silly question:

What do they earn?

• The same amount continuously, above the financial requirement amount
• The same amount continuously, below the financial requirement amount
• Not the same amount continuously, above the financial requirement amount
• Not the same amount continuously, below the financial requirement amount

My gross is generally the same (perm employment, updates once a year at best) but it changed in April. Both old and new are above the min requirement. My net amounts fluctuate slightly month-to-month due to company benefits, etc. So should I select 3? Does this impact the documents I've to send?

Thanks very much

Ok so selecting 3 the application tells me that I need to submit 6 months of payslips which is what I expect. Am I Category A in this case?

What’s confusing me is the Appendix. It says:

6.3 Category B: Less than 6 months with current employer or variable income – person residing in the UK
This category can be used where the applicant’s partner (and/or the applicant if they are in the UK with permission to work) is in salaried or non-salaried employment at the date of application, but has not been with the same employer and/or not earning the income level relied upon in the application for at least 6 months prior to the date of application. It can therefore be used by those who have been with their current employer for less than 6 months, or who have been with their current employer for at least 6 months but earning a variable income and wish to be considered in this category rather than under Category A.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chapter-8-appendix-fm-family-members/appendix-fm-17-financial-requirement-accessible-version#salaried-and-non-salaried-employment

What’s the definition of a variable income?

My payslips definitely do vary slightly (but min payslip x 12 is above the min annual threshold)

So I’m a little surprised that the form says 6 months given that I’ve selected option 3.

Payslips covering any period of salaried employment (current and previous) in the period of 6 months prior to the date of application

Am I worrying over nothing?

How is it varying when you're on a basic salary? If you're getting additional extra each month then wouldn't they show on your payslip in another section? I'm looking at my own payslip and the Actual Salary (the monthly bit) does not change. Any benefits should be in a separate part surely?

My base has changed recently but also the number on the payslip seems to change too (tweaked some pensions contributions a few months ago). The source of the change is not really visible on the payslip and I really can’t change any of that

Wouldn’t this be a common problem for many people? Any advice which to pick?

I’m leaning towards sticking with option 3. I see people were previously advised to pick 1 to avoid jumping to 12 months but this must have changed along the years

My base also changed midway through my 7 month range, plus there was a additional payment in one month, but I selected 1. Maybe the experts have more views, but if you select 1 you could always  have a cover page at the start to explain it a bit more.

I'm of the opinion that they only dig into it more when the salary is close to the required minimum.

Sounds like they've corrected the bug that told you to send 12 months if you selected option 3, so there's nothing to worry about there.

As long as it's still telling you to submit only 6 months of payslips and bank statements, then Option 3 is correct, and you're good to go.

But if Option 3 does tell you to submit 12 months of payslips/bank statements, then change it to Option 1 instead.

Basically, just select whichever option you need to, so that it tells you to send 6 months and not 12 months.

Thanks @ksand24 !!