A raft of changes to employment law come into effect in April 2022 and more still are in the pipeline. It is important that HR teams, Payroll personnel and operational managers are aware of the changes.

Gender Pay Gap Figures – 31 March and 05 April 2022
Organisations have 12 months to publish their gender pay gap figures from the relevant snapshot date (31 March for the public sector and 5 April for the private and voluntary sectors). This means that the next gender pay gap reporting deadline is 30 March 2022 for public-sector employers and 4 April 2022 for private-sector and voluntary-sector employers.

Our training on pay gap reporting courses start at just £285+vat for 14 people.

National Minimum and Living Wage Increases 01 April 2022
Rates for the national minimum wage will increase on 1 April 2022. The hourly rate of the minimum wage will increase from:

• £8.91 to £9.50 for workers aged 23 and over (the national living wage)
• £8.36 to £9.18 for workers aged 21 or 22
• £6.56 to £6.83 for workers aged 18 to 20
• £4.62 to £4.81 for workers aged under 18 who are no longer of compulsory school age,
• £4.30 to £4.81 for apprentices under 19, or over 19 and in the first year of the apprenticeship.

Employers should check their pay rates against the forthcoming minimum wage rates and ensure that, where necessary, they increase remuneration for the first pay reference period beginning on or after 1 April 2022

Review of Temporary Guidance on “Right to Work Checks” – 05 April 2022
Since 30 March 2020, temporary guidance on right-to-work checks has been in place to allow employers to conduct checks without seeing the individual face to face. Checks can be carried out via video and scanned, or photo versions of the original required documents can be used. Employers have a defence against a civil penalty if they complete a right-to-work check in accordance with the temporary adjustments. As long as employers followed the temporary guidance, they are not expected to carry out face-to-face checks retrospectively. However, these temporary measures are due to last only until 5 April 2022. Employers should look out for new guidance on right-to-work checks that will apply from 6 April 2022 (although it is possible that the temporary guidance will be extended)

Readers should also be aware, that leaving the above aside, the Government guidance on “right to work checks” was updated on 17 January 2022

Statutory Family Related Pay and Sick Pay Increases- 03/06 April 2022
The rate of statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental and parental bereavement pay will increase to £156.66, up from £151.97. The increase normally takes effect on the first Sunday in April, which in 2022 is 3 April.

The rate for statutory sick pay will also rise on 6 April 2022. The new rate will be £99.35, up from £96.35. It is up to employers to make sure that staff on maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental and parental bereavement leave, and staff on sick leave, are paid these statutory minimum rates. Employers also need to review their policies and documents that mention the rates, such as their maternity policies and sickness absence procedures

New Limits on Statutory Redundancy Pay Calculations- 06 April 2022
New limits on employment statutory redundancy pay will come into force on 6 April 2022. Employers that dismiss employees for redundancy must pay those with two years’ service an amount based on the employee’s weekly pay, length of service and age. The weekly pay is subject to a maximum amount (£544 from 6 April 2021). The new amount will be confirmed in the draft Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2022, which should be published some time in February. Employers should ensure that calculations for statutory redundancy payments are made on the basis of this new maximum amount for redundancy dismissals on or after 6 April 2022

Changes in the pipeline for 2022/23

• changes to the right to request flexible working procedures
• the introduction of statutory carers’ leave
• the introduction of neonatal leave and pay
• extended redundancy protections during pregnancy and maternity leave
• reforms to the requirement to produce modern slavery statements
• reforms to sexual harassment laws
• amendments to the rules on settlement agreements
• new provisions to give workers the right to request a more predictable and stable contractual working pattern
• new rules to ensure that tips are passed to workers in full.

Image Credit: The Law by smlp.co.uk used under CC BY