New statutory rates
Statutory maternity pay (SMP), statutory paternity pay (SPP), statutory shared parental pay (ShPP) and statutory adoption pay (SAP) - Entitlement rise to £145.18 from £140.98
Statutory Sick Pay - Increase to £92.05 a week from £89.25. The earnings boundary has also increased to £116 a week, which in part determines an employee’s entitlement to SPP.
Other new rates
Pension auto-enrolment - Employees and employers will now have to contribute a combined 5% of an individual’s overall earnings. Employers must contribute 2% with employees contributing to the remaining 3% through automatic wage deductions. Failure to do this could result in government fines.
Redundancy pay – Increase to £508 from £489, for the maximum amount of a week’s pay for calculating statutory redundancy pay.
Taxation payments – All payments in lieu of notice will be subject to income tax and National Insurance Contributions regardless of whether the right to pay is contractual or not.
Tribunal awards – Increase to £98,922 from £95,211, the maximum award for an unfair dismissal, including the maximum basic compensatory award. Employers are also facing a growing threat of employment tribunal claims with the removal of fees last year.
Reporting requirements
Gender pay gap – Private sector organisations with over 250 employees needed to have reported their figures online by the 4 April. Public sector organisations should have published these by 30 March.
For information on the changes to the national minimum wage and living wage click here.