2018 Employment Law changes

June 10, 2019January 5, 2018 by Laura Macdonald

As we enter 2018 the Employment Team at Jackson Boyd are keeping a close eye on the changes to be implemented in the coming year. The scheduled changes affect both employers and employees and some of the key dates are highlighted below.

30 March 2018 – Public Sector employers have to publish Gender Pay gap reports. Organisations with 250 staff or over must report on their gender pay gap by 30 March 2018 and annually thereafter. Organisations with less than 250 staff can voluntarily publish this information. Guidance on this can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/gender-pay-gap-reporting-guidance

1 April 2018 – National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage increase.

from £7.50 to £7.83 for workers aged 25 and over (the National Living Wage)
from £7.05 to £7.38 for 21-24 year olds
from £5.60 to £5.90 for 18-20 year olds
from £4.05 to £4.20 for 16-17 year olds
from £3.50 to £3.70 for apprentices aged under 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship.

April 2018 (exact date to be confirmed but usually 1^st/2^nd April) – Statutory Rate Increases.

Statutory Sick Pay to increase to £92.05 per week
Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Shared Parental pay to increase to £145.18 per week

4 April 2018 – Private Sector employers have to publish Gender Pay gap reports. Organisations with 250 staff or over must report on their gender pay gap by 30 March 2018 and annually thereafter. Organisations with less than 250 staff can voluntarily publish this information.

6 April 2018 – Taxation of Termination Payments – from this date ALL notice pay is to be treated as earnings and therefore will be subject to both taxation and National Insurance contributions.

Other changes will follow throughout the year and the Jackson Boyd Employment Team will produce updates on a regular basis.

If you are an employer or an employee who is concerned that any of the above changes may affect you please contact us online by clicking here or speak to a member of our specialist team on 0333 222 1855.