As HR personnel and business owners will be aware, weekly rates of pay and other statutory rates in employment legislation are updated annually in line with the new tax year. We give an overview of the key points to note below.
Rates of pay
As from 1 April 2021, organisations must ensure their staff are paid the following as a minimum:
| 23 and over | 21 to 22 | 18 to 20 | Under 18 | Apprentice |
April 2021 | £8.91 | £8.36 | £6.56 | £4.62 | £4.30 |
As from this year, the National Living Wage (‘NLW’) has been extended to all workers aged 23 and over (in previous years this has only applied to those aged 25 and over). The National Minimum Wage (‘NMW’) applies to all workers aged 22 and under.
A week’s pay
A new statutory rate for weekly pay (used in the calculation of statutory redundancy payments) came into force on 6 April 2021.
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, which rose to £544 from 6 April 2021.
Unfair dismissal – maximum compensatory award
Note that the maximum award for unfair dismissal (where the ‘Effective Date of Termination’ was on or after 6 April 2021) rises to £89,493 (from £88,519 for 2019-2020).
Statutory Sick Pay
From 6 April 2021, Statutory Sick Pay increased to £96.35 per week.
Family-friendly payments
From 4 April 2021, statutory weekly payments for family-related leave (including maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental pay) all rise to £151.97.
Actions
Businesses should ensure they take the following steps now to avoid potential issues or confusions, or even staff grievances over missing or inaccurate pay:
- Update any handbooks or policies which give a now outdated rate of pay;
- Double check that you won’t be caught out by the new entitlement of 23 and 24-year old staff for the NLW – for them, hourly pay must increase from the NMW of £8.20 for 2019-2020 to the NLW of £8.91 for 2020-2021;
- Ensure that staff on the different types of family leave receive the updated weekly rate; and
- Update your organisation’s statutory redundancy pay calculations.
As always, do get in touch with the team if we can be of assistance in connection with calculating pay or compensation rates, or with any other employment issue.