Cast your mind back to October 2024, and you will remember that Chancellor Rachel Reeves made a series of significant announcements for employers. Some of these are now going to take effect, as April begins.
With these, and other developments, imminent, here is a look at what to expect this April.
One: Increase to national minimum wage
The National Minimum Wage rises every April. The increases this year are higher than underlying inflation, meaning you may have to carefully budget for it as the year unfolds.
For workers aged 21 and older, the National Living Wage jumps from £11.44 to £12.21 per hour – a 6.7% increase. For those aged 18-20 the increase is from £8.60 to £10 (a 16.3% increase). There are 18% rises for workers aged 16-17 and for the apprenticeship rate, both rising from £6.40 to £7.55.
Two: National insurance contributions and thresholds
This was the real headline grabber from Labour’s Budget, and will negatively impact many SME businesses, but there are some mitigations.
So the bad news first: Employer National Insurance Contributions rates will rise from 13.8% to 15%, and moreover the level at which you start paying them will drop significantly from £9,100 to £5,000.
On the plus side, you may be able to benefit from the extended employment allowance which allows some smaller employers to offset some or all NICs. This was £5,000 and is rising to £10,500. There was an NIC liability threshold of £100,000 above which you couldn’t claim this allowance. But this has been removed so even if you previously were not able to claim the employment allowance, you may now be able to.
Three: Introduction of neonatal leave and pay
From 6th April there will be a new leave for parents whose newborn requires neonatal care, thanks to the Neonatal Care Act. If a baby up to 28 days old is admitted to hospital and has a continuous stay of seven or more days, the parents will be entitled to take up to 12 weeks of leave to manage this difficult time. This is a day one right. Statutory neonatal care pay will also be available for employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service with average weekly earnings of at least the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit – that’s £125 per week from April. Make sure you get a policy, and your systems updated, to reflect this.
Four: Statutory pay rate rises
As you will know, there are a number of statutory pay rates, and these typically rise each April. This year, the increase has been set at 6.7% and affects the following statutory rates:
- Maternity, paternity, adoption, neonatal care, shared parental and parental bereavement pay will all increase from £184.03 to £187.18.
- Sick pay will increase from £116.75 to £118.75.
- Similarly, the lower earnings limit for an employee to qualify for these statutory payments will rise from £123 to £125, whilst the lower earnings limit for maternity pay will stay at £30.
Five: Statutory sick pay (SSP) reform
From April 2025 SSP becomes a day one right available to anyone regardless of whether they earn below the NI lower earnings limit. Significantly, SSP will be payable from the first day of sickness absence rather than day four, making it much more likely to come into play for employers. It will be paid at the lower of 80% of their weekly earnings or the SSP rate detailed above.
Staying ahead of the curve
While there is more change than usual each April, employment law is constantly evolving. So make sure you have an effective way to stay ahead of the curve, so you can continue to run your business smoothly.
