Statutory Payments have increased, as an Employer you legally need to pay the minimum

Each year statutory payments, employment rates and limits increase, this occurs in April each year, all in all the rises will impact national minimum wage rates, statutory redundancy payments, statutory sickness payments, and employment tribunal awards.

As an Employer, you are legally obliged to meet these minimum requirements, a failure to do so could lead to a claim in a tribunal,

In our article we detail the most important ones for you as an Employer to note below.

Why not take a read:

National minimum wage

From 1 April, the national minimum wage rates (including the national living wage rate) increased as follows:

Age category	Current (2023)	New (1 April 2024)	Increase £ + %
NLW – 21 years and above	£10.42	£11.44	£1.02 @ 9.8%
NMW – 18 years to 20 years	£7.49	£8.60	£1.11 @ 14.8%
NMW – 16 years to 17 years	£5.28	£6.40	£1.12 @ 21.2%
*Apprentices	£5.28	£6.40	£1.12 @ 21.2%

*The rate applies to apprentices who are below the age of 19, or apprentices who are 19 and over and in the first year of their apprenticeship.

The daily rate for the accommodation offset limit increases from £9.10 to £9.99. The accommodation offset limit is the maximum amount you the Employer can subtract from an Employee’s pay for any accommodation provided by you.

It is safe to say the new rates mark the largest ever increase in the national minimum wage to date.

Statutory sick pay

Statutory sick pay increased from £109.40 to £116.75 per week, the rate is live as of 6 April 2024.

As an Employer you cannot normally reclaim SSP from HMRC.

Statutory maternity, paternity, shared parental pay and adoption

Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental pay increased from £172.48 to £184.03 per week, is live as of 6 April 2024.

As an Employer you can reclaim all, or most of these statutory payments from HMRC.  

Employment Tribunal Awards and Limits

The statutory limit on many employment tribunal awards increased. The increase(s) apply to events giving rise to compensation that occurred on or after 6 April 2024, as in the table below:

Statutory Right	Rates from 6 April 2022	Rates from 6 April 2023
Failure to provide Statement of Main Terms	up to 4 weeks’ £2,572	up to 4 weeks’ £2,800
Failure to reinstate or re-engage: 26 to 52 weeks’ pay	£16,718 to £33,436	£18,200 to £36,400
Unfair Dismissal (Basic Award)	£19,290	£21,000 to £115,115 (Unlimited in certain circumstances)
Unfair Dismissal (Compensatory Award)	Max £105,707 or 52 weeks’ pay (whichever is the lower) No cap for whistleblowing or H&S	£115,115 or 52 weeks pay (whichever is the lower) No cap for whistleblowing or H&S
Weekly Pay for Redundancy Purposes	Max £643.00 per week	Max 700.00 per week
Discrimination	Unlimited – No Cap	Unlimited – No Cap
Statutory Redundancy Payment	£19,290	£21,000 (£21,870 in Northern Ireland)
Statutory Guarantee Pay (per day) Lay-Offs	£35 (payable in lay off situations for max 1 working wk per 3 months)	£38 – maximum is: £190.00 (payable in lay off situations for max 1 working wk per 3 months)
Breach of flexible working regulations: up to 8 weeks’ pay	£5,144	£5,600
Breach of right to be accompanied: up to 2 weeks’ pay	£1,286	£1,400
Vento bands, serving as guidelines for employment tribunals in determining awards for injury to feelings in discrimination (and certain other) claims	Lower band (less serious cases: £1,100 to £11,200).   Middle band (cases not warranting an upper band award) £11,200 to £33,700   Upper band (for the most serious cases) (previously £33,700 to £56,200)	£1,200 to £11,700     £11,700 to £35,200         £35,200 to £58,700   In exceptional cases an award may exceed £58,700

*These awards and limits do not include the costs incurred as an Employer preparing and representing at tribunal.

 

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