There are various changes to Employment Law to be made in 2022. Some are definitely happening and others are still in the planning but may well be law by the end of the year. Here, we outline those definitely happening.
Statutory rates of pay
The Department for Work and Pensions have made increases to the statutory benefit payments. These apply from April 2022 and include:
- Statutory sick pay (SSP) will be £99.35 per week.
- Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental pay together with maternity allowance will be £156.66 per week.
The increase normally occurs on the first Sunday in April, which would be 3 April 2022.
National Minimum Wage
Changes to the National Minimum Wage come into force next month. Kidwells Accountancy recently wrote a blog with the changes.
National Insurance contributions to rise
On 6 April 2022, National Insurance contributions for employers and employees were to rise by 1.25% for everyone. Since the Chancellor’s Spring budget this has changed to help those on a lower income. For more information on this see the guidance on the Government website. This increase is to fund health and social care and will be replaced in April 2023 by separate health and social care levy.
Right to work checks
By law, employers who hire staff from abroad must check their eligibility to take up employment in the UK. To simplify the process during the Covid 19 pandemic, the Government set up a digital system for the Right to Work checks.
Initially, businesses could only use the digital system up to September 2021. However, the Government confirmed that digital right to work checks will become permanent from 5th April 2022.
Gender pay gap reporting
Every year, companies with at least 250 employees need to fill in and submit their reports on the gender pay gap. This applies to both private and public sector companies, with the only difference being the deadline.
In 2022, employers in the private and voluntary sector have a deadline set for April 5th, 2022. Public sector organisations are required to submit their report earlier, by March 31st, 2022. After these dates, they risk Government enforcement action.
The law requires employers to do this every year but due to the pandemic, the obligation to report on the gender pay gap had been suspended for the previous year. Companies could still submit their files voluntarily.
Modernisation of trade union regulator
The regulator for trade unions and employers’ associations is modernising to enhance transparency and uphold high standards across the sector. Under reforms which to come into force in April 2022, the functions of the Certification Officer (CO) will be brought into line with other regulators such as the Pensions Regulator and Financial Reporting Council. The CO will be able to investigate where they suspect, or when a third party raises concerns, that a union or employers’ association may have breached its statutory duties.
Confused or unsure?
If you have anything you would like some help with from our HR and Employment team, please get in touch.