Employment Law Changes from April 22

We all know that April is a common time for employment law to be revised and 2022 looks to be no different.

Here’s a quick round up of what we can expect to be changed from April 2022:

1. New rates of National Minimum Wage.
2. New Statutory Payments, SMP, SSP etc are all increasing in April 2022, SMP will be £156.66 per week and SSP will be £99.35 per week. The lower earnings limit is the figure someone must earn to be eligible for SMP or SSP is going up to £123 per week.
3. There will be a 1.5% increase in national insurance contributions.
4. Right to work checks – with effect from April 22, the evidence required for the right to work checks will be different for those who hold biometric residence cards, biometric residence permits, and frontier worker permits. With effect from April 22, the home office online service can be used to check the card rather than it be presented in person.

We are expecting a long awaited Employment Bill in 2022 which may include revisions to the rights of new starters (including the right to request flexible working from day 1, the right for casuals to ask for predictable working patterns after 26 weeks, the right for mothers of premature babies to take up to an additional 12 weeks leave). We will update you when we hear that this bill has made it to parliament.

If you need any assistance with any aspect of managing employees and understanding your responsibilities for employment law, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01527 909436