Key Employment Law Changes in April 2019

2nd April, 2019 by Hannah Ball

We set out below the key employment law changes taking place in April 2019.

Increase in Statutory Payments

From 1 April 2019, the National Minimum Wage increased as follows:

16 - 17 year olds: £4.20 to £4.35 per hour;
18 - 20 year olds: £5.90 to £6.15 per hour;
21 and over: £7.38 to £7.70 per hour;
25 and over: £7.83 to £8.21 per hour (National Living Wage); and
Apprenticeship rate (for apprentices under 19 years old or over 19 but in the first year of their apprenticeship): £3.70 to £3.90 per hour.

From 1 April 2019, Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Pay will increase from £145.18 to £148.68 per week.

From 6 April 2019, Statutory Sick Pay will increase from £92.05 per week to £94.25 per week.

From 6 April 2019, compensation and redundancy payments will increase as follows:

The cap on a statutory week’s pay will increase from £508 to £525;
The maximum Basic Award for unfair dismissal will rise from £15,240 to £15,750;
Statutory Redundancy Payments will be capped at a maximum of £15,750 (from £15,240);
Compensatory Awards for unfair dismissal will increase to a maximum of £86,444 (from £83,682) or a year’s gross pay, whichever is lower.

Gender Pay Gap Reporting

Private sector employers with 250 or more employees must publish their gender pay gap report by 4 April 2019 (and thereafter by 4 April every year). Public sector employers must publish their reports by 30 March 2019 (and thereafter by 30 March every year). The reports must set out:

Difference in mean and median hourly pay between male and female employees;
Difference in mean and median bonus pay between male and female employees;
Proportion of male and female employees who received bonuses; and
Proportion of male and female employees in each of 4 pay quartiles.

Itemised Payslips

On 6 April 2019, the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Itemised Pay Statement) (Amendment) Orders will come into force. These require employers to:

provide a payslip to all workers (not just employees); and
detail on a worker’s payslip the number of hours for which they have been paid, where they are hourly paid. The number of hours must be given as either a single aggregate figure or as separate figures where they are entitled to different rates of pay.

Auto-Enrolment

From 6 April 2019, there will be an increase in the minimum contribution that employers and employees must pay into automatic enrolment workplace pensions, from 5% to 8%, with an employer minimum contribution of 3%. The employee will need to make up the shortfall between the employer’s contribution and the statutory minimum.

Hannah Ball comments:

"April is always a key month for changes in employment law and it’s important that those dealing with payroll are aware of the changes including changes to statutory pay rates and itemised payslips. Our Employment Law Facts and Figures with further details can be downloaded here."

The information on this site about legal matters is provided as a general guide only. Although we try to ensure that all of the information on this site is accurate and up to date, this cannot be guaranteed. The information on this site should not be relied upon or construed as constituting legal advice and Howes Percival LLP disclaims liability in relation to its use. You should seek appropriate legal advice before taking or refraining from taking any action.

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