Hannah Johnson

Paralegal

DATE PUBLISHED: 01 Apr 2022 LAST UPDATED: 01 Apr 2022

Employment law changes: April 2022

From today, there will be several notable changes that come into effect, which will impact both individuals and businesses.

1 April 2022: increase to National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates

The Government reviews these rates annually, which take effect each April.

From today, 1 April 2022, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates have increased as follows:

Category Rate from 1 April 2022
Age 23 and over £9.50
Age 21 to 22 £9.18
Age 18 to 20 £6.83
Under 18 £4.81
Apprentice £4.81

3 April 2022: increase to family-related pay

The weekly rate for statutory family-related pay has increased from £151.97 to £156.66 per week.

This rate applies to the following Statutory Pay: Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared Parental and Parental Bereavement. The amount paid will be the lower of: 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, or the statutory rate.

6 April 2022: increase to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rate

Statutory sick pay will increase from £96.35 to £99.35 per week.

6 April 2022: increase to statutory redundancy payments

The cap on a week’s pay for the purposes of calculating redundancy payments (and the basic award in unfair dismissal claims) will increase from £544 to £571.

The maximum statutory redundancy payment will increase from £16,320 to £17,130.

You can calculate your entitlement to a statutory redundancy payment here.

6 April 2022: increase to compensation for unfair dismissal claims

The basic award in an unfair dismissal claim will be calculated in the same way as a statutory redundancy payment above.

In addition to the basic award, employee’s can claim a compensatory award.

The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal claims will increase from £89,493 to £93,878 (or 52 weeks’ gross pay if lower).

This increase relates to dismissals where the effective date of termination is on or after 6 April 2022.

6 April 2022: increase to Vento bands for discrimination claims

Vento bands are used as guidance for making injury to feelings awards in discrimination claims. They are divided into three bands, depending on the facts and seriousness of each claim:

Lower: less serious cases i.e. isolated/one off offences.

Middle: serious cases that do not merit an award in the upper band.

Upper: most serious cases i.e. lengthy campaign of discrimination.

The following increases take effect for claims issued after 6 April 2022:

Vento band Claims between 6 April 2021 and 5 April 2022 Claims after 6 April 2022
Lower £900 – £9,100 £990 – £9,900
Middle £9,000 – £27,400 £9,900 – £29,600
Upper £27,400 to £45,600 £29,600 – £49,300

Please note that tribunals are not bound by the guidelines, and only in the most exceptional cases will a Tribunal make an award in excess of the upper limit.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact one of our experienced Employment Lawyers on 01202 525333 or employment@ellisjones.co.uk for further advice.

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