Employment Law Changes in April 2024 – An Employer’s Guide

Most employers will be aware by now that from April, many employment law changes will come into effect. We have created a guide that includes all the changes in April that employers need to be aware of.

Increases to National Living Wage and Statutory Payments

From 1^st April 2024 the new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage will be:

Please note that workers aged 21 and 22 will be entitled to the National Living Wage.  

From 6^th April 2024, Statutory Sick Pay will increase from £109.40 to £116.75 per week. The lower earnings limit (per week) will remain the same at £123.

From 7^th April 2024, Statutory Shared Parental Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, and Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay will all increase from £172.48 to £184.03 per week.

There will be changes to Compensation Limits. These changes will apply to dismissals on or after 6^th April 2024. A week’s pay (calculating redundancy pay) will increase to £700 from £643, Maximum Compensatory Award for Unfair Dismissal will increase to £115,115 from £105,707, Minimum Basic Award for Certain Unfair Dismissals will increase to £8,533 from £7836, and Statutory Guarantee Pay will increase to £38 from £35.

For further details on these new rates please click here for our detailed article on this topic.

Holiday Pay Calculations and Entitlements

For leave years on or after 1^st April 2024, there will be changes in place for calculating holiday pay and entitlement. These changes include:

• Holiday entitlement for irregular hours workers and part-year workers will be calculated as 12.07% of actual hours worked in a pay period.  
• Carryover of leave (sick leave, maternity accrual and Covid rules).
• Rolled up holiday pay.

For further details of these changes, including how employers should prepare please click here for our detailed article on this topic.

Carer’s Leave

From 6^th April 2024, employees will have statutory day-one right to one week’s unpaid leave per year to care for a dependent with long-term needs. No evidence is needed for eligibility. ‘One week’ of leave amounts to the employee’s typical working week, i.e., 3 days of leave if they work 3 days a week, 5 days of leave if they work 5 days a week.

For further details on what is defined as ‘long-term needs’ and ‘dependent’, as well as how employers should prepare please click here.

Paternity Leave

The changes in the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 came into force on 8^th March 2024 and will apply when the expected week of childbirth begins after 6^th April 2024, or the expected week of adoption is on or after 6^th April 2024.

Changes include:

• Employees can now separate their leave into separate one-week blocks.
• Employees can take their paternity leave any time in the 52 weeks after the birth or adoption of their child.
• The notice of entitlement to take paternity leave should be given in or before the 15^th week before the expected week of birth.
• Employees only need to give 28 days’ notice to take each period of leave.
• Any dates specific for leave to be taken can be changed as long as an employer is given at least 28 days’ notice.

For a more in-depth analysis and explanation of this ruling and how to prepare for these changes please click here.

Extension of Redundancy Protection in Pregnancy and Family Leave

The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 will be extended to protect pregnant employees and those who have recently returned from maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave for a period of 18 months after the birth or placement of a child.

This new protection applies to pregnancies notified to an employer on or after 6^th April 2024 and maternity/adoption/shared parental leave ending on or after 6^th April 2024.

For more details about the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 and how to prepare please click here.

Flexible Working Regulations

From 6^th April 2024, Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 will come into force. Changes include:

• Employees will be able to make a flexible working request from day-one of employment.
• Employers will need to consult with employees before deciding to reject a flexible working request.
• The period within which the employer must respond with a decision to a request has been reduced to 2 months.
• Employees have the opportunity to submit two flexible working requests within a 12-month timeframe.
• Employees have no obligation to consider the potential impact of their flexible working request on the business.

For a more in-depth analysis of the new flexible working regulations and how to manage requests please click here.

Employment Law Webinar

To watch peopleHUB’s recent webinar where our Head of Operations, Kendal Hulme discussed all of the employment law changes in April 2024, plus other upcoming employment changes in 2024 click here.

To find out more information or if you require any advice about any of the employment law changes in April, get in contact with our team of experts.

T: 0330 107 1037

E: contact@hpc.uk.com

LinkedIn: High Performance Consultancy