April 2022 Rate Changes: What Employers Need to Know

Next month, a number of rate changes are coming into play.  In this post, we explore April 2022 rate changes: what employers need to know.

April 2022 rate changes

The first of the April 2022 rate changes will take effect upon the 1st April 2022, with the increases in the national minimum wage and national living wage coming into force. The new rates are as follows:

• For workers aged 23 and over (i.e. the National Living Wage), the rate will increase by 6.6% from £8.91 per hour to £9.50 per hour
• Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Shared Parental Pay, Adoption Pay, Maternity Allowance, Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, and Statutory Sick Pay
• The statutory cap on a week’s pay for the purposes of calculating the basic award and statutory redundancy pay. The announcement of the new rates is expected early in 2022.

Gender Pay Gap Reporting

The deadline for gender pay gap reporting by public sector employers, private sector employers, and voluntary organisations in 2021 was put back until midnight on the 4th October 2021. However, in terms of 2022, the deadlines are anticipated to revert back to the normal timescales. Accordingly, the deadline for public sector employers to report their data is likely to be the 30th March 2022, with a snapshot date of the 31st March 2021. And for private sector employers and voluntary organisations, the deadline is likely to be the 4th April 2022, with a snapshot date of the 5th April 2021.

Employment Bill

A much-anticipated part of the 2022 employment law changes is the Employment Bill, although there is no guarantee that one will appear. If it does, then it is likely to include the following measures:-

• The establishment of a new single enforcement body for employment rights.
• The extension of protection against redundancy re pregnancy, maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave, including extending redundancy protection to six months post-return to work after the end of maternity leave, with similar protections afforded to those returning to work from adoption leave and shared parental leave
• Neonatal leave and pay
• A new right to 1 week’s unpaid leave per year for carers
• On the 24th September 2021, the Government announced that it is to legislate in order to make it compulsory for businesses in the hospitality, services, and leisure sectors to pass on all tips to staff. The new legislation is likely to be included in the Employment Bill. The legislation will include the following:
  • (i) a legal requirement to pass on all tips to staff;
  • (ii) a new statutory code of practice setting out rules and regulations on how tips are distributed amongst staff; and
  • (iii) a right for employees to request information from their employer regarding their tipping records, and a legal right for employees to bring a claim before an employment tribunal should they believe that they are owed money relating to tips
• A new right for workers to request a more stable contract after 26 weeks service
• New legislation to enhance flexible working rights. The Government recently consulted on this issue, and whether to make flexible working a day 1 right, and its response is expected at some point in 2022.
• An extension of time required to break a period of continuous service from one week to four weeks
• New legislation making it compulsory for organisations to publish their modern slavery statements on a new government-run registry

The recent announcement on staff tips on the 24th September 2021 strongly indicates that a new Employment Bill will materialise in 2022, and therefore form part of the 2022 employment law changes.

We hope you’ve found this post on ‘April 2022 Rate Changes: What Employers Need to Know’ useful.  Should you have any questions about the changes, please do not hesitate to contact one of our employment law experts here.