Increased rates in April 2021

By David Reid, Director.

As today is the first day of the new tax year, the annual index-linked increases to various employment law rates and allowances have come into effect.

For information on new National Minimum Wage rates, which came into effect a few days earlier on 1 April, please see our recent JEL Alert on this topic.

Likewise, for details of increases to the maximum amounts of compensation that can be awarded in certain claims at Employment Tribunal, please see our JEL Alert in relation to these.

We have detailed below the new rates for other key allowances that have now increased:

• Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) has increased to ￡96.35 per week for eligible employees. Further information regarding who is eligible for SSP and how long it is payable for can be found at our statutory sick pay factsheet.
• Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay and Statutory Bereavement Pay have all increased to ￡151.97 per week. You can find more information on our statutory payment factsheet.
• The cap on a week’s pay for a statutory redundancy payment has increased to ￡544 per week. This means that the maximum statutory redundancy payment is now ￡16,320. (This is also the maximum Basic Award in an unfair dismissal claim.) More information is set out in our termination payment factsheet.

We will publish updates on any further changes to these rates as they arise. However, if you would like to discuss the increased rates, or if we can provide any other support or assistance on any employment law matters, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the team on 0141 331 5150.