April is always a key time for employers and payroll departments with important changes to employment law and statutory rates of pay taking effect:
- New rates for the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage
From 1 April 2019 all the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates will increase as follows:
- Workers aged 25 and over going up from £8.21 to £8.72 per hour (national living wage)
- Workers aged between 21-24 from £7.70 to £8.20 an hour;
- 18-20 year olds from £6.15 to £6.45 an hour;
- Those over compulsory school age but not yet 18 from £4.35 to £4.55 per hour; and
- Apprentices from £3.90 to £4.15 an hour(providing the apprentice is under the age of 19, or 19 and over but in the first year of their current apprenticeship).
- Increased statutory payments for family-related pay and statutory sick pay
- The weekly rate of statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental pay increases from £148.68 to £151.20for pay weeks commencing on or after 5 April 2020 (or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings whichever is lower).
- The weekly rate of statutory sick pay increases from £94.25 to £95.85from 6 April 2020.
- Annual Employment Tribunal compensation limits increase
- A week’s pay, for basic award and statutory redundancy purposes, increases from £525 to £538 for all dismissal on or after 6 April 2020.
