Have your pay rates kept up to date with current requirements? And did you know there’s an extra bank holiday this year?
New Minimum / Living Wage rates and the one-off bank holiday are just some of the changes for employers and employees to be aware of this spring. Other changes relate to statutory rates and measures introduced in response to Covid. Below we give you a short summary of the new rules and rates.
Extra Bank Holiday
The additional bank holiday, on Friday 3 June, marks the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The usual late May bank holiday has moved to Thursday 2 June to give a four-day weekend. As a result, it’s safe to expect one or more of the following that weekend: bad weather,delays on the roads or long queues at airport security.
Covid Related SSP
From 21 December 2021, employers with fewer than 250 employees (at 30 November 2021) were able to recover two weeks' of SSP for each eligible employee who was off work due to Covid-19. However, the Scheme applied only to Covid-related absences until 17 March 2022, and employers had to submit claims to recover this by 24 March 2022.
Increase to Minimum Wage
- Since 1 April 2022, the following rates apply for National Minimum / Living wage:
- 23 years and over: £9.50 per hour (up 61p)
- 21-22 years old: £9.18 per hour (up 27p)
- 18-20 years old: £6.83 per hour (up 27p)
- Under 18 years old (above compulsory school age): £4.81 per hour (up 19p)
- Apprentices under 19 years (or over 19 in year 1 of apprenticeship): £4.81 per hour (up 51p)
Other Statutory Pay Rates
From 6 April, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rose to £99.35 per week (from £96.35).
From 3 April, maternity, paternity, shared parental,parental bereavement and adoption pay increased to £156.66 per week (from £151.97).
Compensation Limits for Tribunal Awards
Where employment has been terminated on or after 6 April 2022, the following rates now apply:
- The limit on a week's pay is £571 (up from £544).
- The same weekly limit applies for statutory redundancy payments.
- The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal in Employment Tribunal awards is £93,878 (up from £89,493).
- The minimum basic award for certain unfair dismissals (including health and safety dismissals) is £6,959 (up from £6,634)
Personal Protective Equipment
Since 6 April 2022 the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 2022 have extended the duty on employers to provide suitable PPE, where there is a health and safety risk, to all workers, not just employees
Katherine Irvine, Associate, Employment
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