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5 employment law changes to expect in 2019

Increase in the National Minimum Wage. Having been announced as part of the 2018 Budget, both the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates will increase on 1st April 2019.
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Increase in the National Minimum Wage
Having been announced as part of the 2018 Budget, both the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates will increase on 1st April 2019. The minimum hourly rates will increase as follows (grouped by age category):

25 and over21 to 2418 to 20Under 18Apprentice
£8.21£7.70£6.15£4.35£3.90

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) is the minimum pay per hour most workers are entitled to by law.

From April, statutory rates for SMP/SPP/Shared Parental Pay and Adoption Pay go up to £148.68 (from £145.18) and SSP increases to £94.25 (from £92.05)

Auto-enrolment contributions
Auto-enrolment pension contributions also increase in April 2019. Currently, automatic enrolment requirements mean employers must contribute a minimum of 2% of an eligible worker’s pre-tax salary to their pension pot, with the individual contributing 3% themselves. However, under the new requirements, employers and employees will now have to contribute a minimum of 3% and 5% respectively. Businesses must allow appropriate time to consult before changes are made.

Payslips
From 6th April, the legal right to a payslip will be extended to include those who are recognised as ‘workers’.  Employees AND workers must receive an itemised pay statement and it must set out their hours worked where pay varies. It is important that employers work with their payroll departments to ensure the correct procedure is in place ahead of April’s deadline.

Gender pay gap reporting
Private organisations with 250 or more employees will again be required to publish their gender pay gap figures on the 4th April 2019. Although employers will be reporting for the second time, this year will be the true test as figures are expected to be heavily scrutinised in order to determine whether efforts to address any significant pay disparity highlighted in 2018 have been successful.

Microchipping employees
If recent stories in the media are to be believed, microchipping employees may become more common in the UK workplace during 2019. The UK legal system has not yet been challenged with regards to this, however it will be interesting to see how a court decides to rule on microchipping staff given the potential invasion of privacy and GDPR implications.

For further employment law advice, contact the PGM Solicitors team on 01792 468684 or email enquiries@pgmsolicitors.co.uk.

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