{"id":715,"date":"2025-03-31T12:05:22","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T12:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/?p=715"},"modified":"2025-04-02T16:47:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T16:47:23","slug":"bosses-brace-for-host-of-hr-laws-due-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/31\/bosses-brace-for-host-of-hr-laws-due-this-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Bosses brace for host of HR laws due this week"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the Employment Rights Bill (ERB)<\/a> is currently under review in the House of Lords, significant changes are already set to take effect from tomorrow, April 1. This “once-in-a-generation” legislation will affect payroll, so it’s important to stay informed.<\/p>\n

You can expect to see increases to minimum wage and employer National Insurance<\/a> Contributions (NICs), as well as changes to parental leave and pay.<\/p>\n

Below, we’ll outline the upcoming changes to help you prepare for the week ahead.<\/p>\n

Minimum wage rise tomorrow (April 1)<\/h3>\n

Starting tomorrow, April 1st, there will be significant changes to the National Living Wage<\/a> (NLW) and the National Minimum Wage<\/a> (NMW).<\/p>\n

The NLW, for employees over the age of 21, will increase to £12.21 per hour.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the NMW will increase to £10 per hour for workers aged 18-20. For those under 18 and \/ or undertaking an apprenticeship, the rate will rise to £7.55 per hour.<\/p>\n

Be sure to review your payroll run process in line with these changes to stay compliant.<\/p>\n

Employer NICs increase (April 6)<\/h3>\n

Some businesses hoped that the Spring Forecast<\/a> would halt plans to increase National Insurance Contributions<\/a>, but the proposed plans will roll ahead on April 6.<\/p>\n

As Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in last October’s budget, employer NICs will rise from 13.8% to 15% as of April 6th. In addition to that, the secondary threshold at which employers must start paying NICs will drop from £9,100 to £5,000 until 2028.<\/p>\n

To mitigate the impact of these changes, there are also changes to the employment allowance<\/a> underway. This allows employers to reduce their overall NIC liability.<\/p>\n

The allowance has previously helped employers save £5,000 per year, but from April 6, eligible employers can save up to £10,500. The £100,000 eligibility threshold for claiming the allowance will also be lifted, meaning more firms are set to benefit.<\/p>\n

Changes to parental leave and pay (April 6)<\/h3>\n

Reforms to parental leave and statutory pay will also take effect this Sunday, April 6.<\/p>\n

First, let’s examine the updates to pay. Statutory maternity<\/a>, paternity<\/a>, adoption, and shared parental pay<\/a> will increase from £184.03 to £187.18 per week.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the lower earnings limit — the weekly earnings threshold required to qualify for these payments — will rise from £123 to £125. However, the threshold for receiving maternity pay remains unchanged at £30 per week.<\/p>\n

From April 6, parents with babies admitted to neonatal care can claim up to 12 weeks of paid leave. To be eligible, parents must be employed for a minimum of 26 weeks and earn at least £123 per week before claiming.<\/p>\n

Statutory neonatal care pay will be paid at the same rate as other family leave payments, £187.18 per week. The additional pay and leave is in addition to any maternity, paternity, and shared parental pay that parents are entitled to.<\/p>\n

The measure is expected to help 60,000 new parents<\/a> support their families without having to worry about using annual leave.<\/p>\n

Changes to statutory pay (April 6)<\/h3>\n

From April 6, there will also be changes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and Statutory redundancy pay.<\/p>\n

There will be a £2 increase to SSP from £116.75 to £118.75 per week. As with statutory parental pay, the lower earnings threshold for claiming sick pay will also rise to £125 per week.<\/p>\n

There are additional changes to sick pay incoming. The proposed ERB may allow all employees to claim either 80% of their weekly earnings, or the flat rate, whichever is lower, regardless of their income, from the first day of sick leave.<\/p>\n

Employers should take special note of the upcoming changes to statutory redundancy pay. In terms of redundancy pay, April 6 will see the cap on “a week’s pay” to calculate statutory redundancy pay rise from £700 to £719. This rate also applies to the additional award of compensation for unfair dismissal.<\/p>\n

The change coincides with many businesses planning to make job cuts<\/a> this year amid the tough economic climate. Those faced with making redundancies could also be met with increased costs, so should consider this when financial planning.<\/p>\n

Limit on tribunal awards goes up (April 6)<\/h3>\n

The last of the changes coming into force this week relates to the limits on awards of employment tribunals.<\/p>\n

From April 6, the maximum limit for compensatory awards for unfair dismissal will rise from £115,115 to £118,223.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the minimum basic award for select unfair dismissals, including health and safety dismissals, will increase from £8,533 to £8,763.<\/p>\n

Since these changes can be a lot to digest, businesses can get help with ensuring they remain compliant by outsourcing HR help from a third-party provider<\/a>. It may be a wise move, with additional changes on the horizon as the full ERB comes into effect.<\/p>\n

The post Bosses brace for host of HR laws due this week<\/a> appeared first on Startups.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) is currently under review in the House of Lords, significant changes are already set to take effect from tomorrow, April 1. This “once-in-a-generation” legislation will affect payroll, so it’s important to stay informed. You can expect to see increases to minimum wage and employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs), as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":716,"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715\/revisions\/716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/portraitsbylorie.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}