Changes to Minimum Wages and National Insurance

Jeffrey Beard – CEO | 26/03/2024

Chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced in the autumn statement that the national living wages will increase by almost 10 per cent following high inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.

The change will see it rise from £10.42 per hour to £11.44 per hour from April 1st 2024.

For the first time, the increase will be expanded to cover 21 and 22 year olds and the national minimum wage for younger workers will also rise by £1.11 an hour to £8.60 for 18 – 20 year olds.

Holiday pay for part-time and irregular hours workers has been reformed so their entitlement is calculated at 12.07 per cent of hours worked in a pay period.

A further cut of two percentage points from 6 April 2024 was announced in respect of Class 1 National Insurance paid below £967 per week (from 10% to 8%) with self-employed National Insurance cut from 8% to 6%. There was no change in the rate of employer’s National Insurance payable.

2024 is shaping up to be a busy year...

Jeffrey Beard – CEO | 26/3/2024

The changes in policy cover employment rights, flexible working and holiday pay. There will be greater protection from redundancy for employees who are pregnant or coming back from maternity leave, as well as new rights for those who balance work and caring responsibilities.

Bullying and Harassment

A hot topic recently has been the importance of employers’ addressing workplace bullying and harassment, particularly given the legal risks and potential damage to reputation. This will become even more important as the new duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment kicks in towards the end of next year.
“If employers want to argue that they’ve taken reasonable steps to prevent harassment, they are going to have to proactively review policies and regularly train staff on the law and their responsibilities.

Holiday Pay Reform

The decision was made to reform holiday pay for such workers after the Supreme Court’s decision in Harper Trust v Brazel resulted in part-year workers receiving more holiday entitlement than part-time workers who worked the same number of hours on an annual basis.

TUPE Changes

The reforms will also see changes to Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) rights, which protect employees and their benefits when their organisation transfers from one employer to another.

The changes look to ease the pressure on small businesses by allowing them to consult with their new employees directly if there are no existing worker representatives in place. Where employee representatives – including trade unions – are in place, employers will be required to consult with them.

Carers

The Carer’s. Leave Act 2023 received royal assent in May 2023 and looks to reinforce the rights of those who balance work with caring responsibilities. It will allow these workers to take at least one week of unpaid carer’s leave per year. This will cover those with an illness or injury that is expected to last more than three months and those with a disability or where care is related to old age. It is expected to come into force in April 2024.

Flexible working arrangements

Employees across the UK will be given greater flexibility from next year over where and when they work. Employers will be required to consider and flexible working requests and provide a reason before rejection.

The Act, Which received royal assent in July, will cover rights to request flexibility over part time, term time, flexi-time, compressed hours and adjustable start and finish times. Expect to see the Act around July 2024.

General election and suggested changes to Employment laws

If the Conservative Party stays in power, we can expect it to carry on with its five point plan to reduce immigration to lessen the UK’s dependence on overseas workers in favour of UK Workers.

But if the Labour Party were to win in the election, the party has pledged to introduce an employment rights bill, which will put a ban on zero-hours contracts, end fire and rehire practices and strengthen sick pay.

​ALL FACTS CHECKED WITH INSTITUTE FOR GOVERNMENT.
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