Employment Law Changes from April 2022

As we start to look beyond the pandemic and ahead into this year, the government have outlined the employment law changes due to take effect from April 2022.

We've compiled a guide to the employment law changes that are due to come into effect from April 2022.

From 1st April 2022, national minimum wage rates will increase as follows:

• National Living Wage (23+ year olds) £9.50
• 21-22 year olds £9.18
• 18-20 year olds £6.83
• 16-17 year olds £4.81
• Apprentice Rate £4.81

All rates, current and future can be found at https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates

From 3rd April 2022, family friendly payments increase (SMP, SAP, ShPP, SPP, SPBP).

From 6th April, only online checks for right to work checks. In order to complete right to work checks for non-UK nationals, you will need the individual’s DOB and right to work share code. No more biometric residence cards or permit checks.

In addition, from 6th April, statutory sick pay (SSP) increases to £99.35 per week with a national insurance increase of 1.25%. The lower earnings limit will also increase from £120 per week to £123 per week to be eligible for sick pay.

Contact us to talk through what these changes mean for you and your business, we're here to help!

 

Looking ahead…

From 1st October 2022, permanent system of digital right to work checks to be put in place. Looking ahead, we expect the government to confirm dates for further updates to UK Employment Law. These include the introduction of prohibiting contract clauses to prevent disclosures to police, regulated health and care or legal professionals.

Redundancy protection for new parents is to be extended along with the right for all workers to request a more predictable and stable working pattern after 26 weeks service, introducing compensation for shifts being cancelled at short notice.

The government also plan to introduce new legislation for employment status tests and the break in continuous service will increase from one to four weeks.

We will continue to keep you up to date in changes to UK Employment Law and our friendly team of experts are here to help make sense of any impact on your business. Get in touch!