Five new employment laws and a new tax year

There are changing taking place from April 2019 and five new employment laws come into force in April which employers and employees should make themselves aware with.

National Minimum Wage
Statutory Sick Pay
Pay slips
Pensions
Tribunal pay-outs

These are major new employment laws are changing from April. It is set to bring with it a fresh batch of employment law developments that employers must be aware of, and adapt to, to remain compliant.

HMRC and other leading experts encouraging people to stay on top of it. HR expert like Alan Price, from Peninsula, says employers in particular need to be aware of the new rules, and adapt their policies in accordance them, in order to remain compliant.

Let’s look at each new development and how it affects us

National Minimum Wage

New employment laws for National living wage to increase nearly 5% from April 2019. The national living wage, the statutory national minimum wage for those aged 25 and over, will increase 4.9% from 1 April 2019, from £7.83 to £8.21. It will be important for employers to review and amend their pay practices ahead of time to ensure NMW staff continue to receive the correct rate for their age. National minimum wage (NMW) rates are scheduled to increase for all pay reference periods which start on or after 1 April 2019, meaning all minimum wage workers will be due a boost in pay.

Announcing the increase in the Budget in October, the chancellor Philip Hammond said: “From April [the National Living Wage] will rise again, handing a full-time worker a £690 annual pay increase.”

The Treasury says the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage worker will have increased by over £2,750 since the introduction of the NLW in April 2016.

The government accepted all of the LPC’s recommendations for the other national minimum wage to apply from 1 April 2019:

increasing the rate for 21- to 24-year-olds by 4.3% from £7.38 to £7.70 per hour;
increasing the rate for 18- to 20-year-olds by 4.2% from £5.90 to £6.15 per hour;
increasing the rate for 16- to 17-year-olds by 3.6% from £4.20 to £4.35 per hour;
increasing the rate for apprentices by 5.4% from £3.70 to £3.90 per hour; and
increasing the accommodation offset by 7.9% from £7.00 to £7.55.

Statutory Sick Pay

The qualifying criteria for statutory sick pay (SSP) will change from 6 April 2019, as well as the amount of money staff will be entitled to earn each week. This means individuals will need to earn at least £118 per week in order to qualify for weekly payments of £94.25. Similarly, the rate of pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental pay will increase to £148.68 per week from the 7 April 2019, which may mean employers have to amend their policies accordingly.

Pay slips

Employers will have to rethink their pay slip process from 6 April 2019 as both ‘employees’ and ‘workers’ will be entitled to receive itemised pay statements from this day onward. Pay slips will also need to include the total number of hours worked, where this influences pay, meaning payroll and HR departments will need to work in unison to ensure relevant staff receive their pays lips in accordance with these new requirements.

Pension contributions

New employment laws for pension contribution changes where employers’ approach to pensions will need adjusting in 2019 as the minimum auto-enrolment contributions will increase from 6 April 2019. Employers and workers will need to contribute 3% and 5% of an employee’s pre-tax salary respectively each month and payroll departments will need to be on the ball to avoid reprisals from the pensions regulator.

Tribunal pay-outs

New employment laws says that the amount of money employees could be due for a successful tribunal claim will also increase from 6 April 2019. From this date, successful claims for unfair dismissal could result in a maximum compensation payout of £102,194 which means employers will need to be extra careful in making sure their procedures are fair and appropriate when taking disciplinary action.

As April draws ever closer employers will need to be wary of these impending changes and it would be wise to dedicate time over the coming weeks to proactively prepare their business for these new requirements.

GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFORMATION NOW!

Whatever issue or question you have, we’ve got the answer

If you want to get in touch with one of our accountants then please contact us

e-mail us info@debitscredits.co.uk