As we enter a New Tax Year, new HR legislation changes will come into effect. Many of these changes are due to the ongoing pandemic. These are the key points for making sure your business conforms to the new legislation.

National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage

Starting from the 1^st April 2022 minimum wage will be increased to the following:

Similarly, from the 3^rd April 2022, statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental and parental bereavement pay will increase to £156.66 per week. Employers need to know their employees’ date of birth to check which pay band they are in, as some of your employees may need to move from one band to an other as they get older.

On the 6^th April 2022, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will increase to £99.35 per week. The lower earnings limit for eligibility for these payments are increasing for the first time in two years from £120 to £123 per week.

Holidays

To celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the late May bank holiday has been moved to Thursday 2^nd June 2022, with an additional bank holiday scheduled on Friday 3^rd June 2022.

Contracts should be carefully checked to understand what your obligations to employees are. There may not be an automatic right to an additional day or time off on fixed bank holidays.

COVID Vaccines

COVID will still be present in 2022, but due to the rollout of vaccinations, organisations are in a better position to plan and prepare for possible disruptions.

Most organisations are not legally required to have fully vaccinated workers. It is recommended to encourage staff to become fully vaccinated for the health and safety of other staff and clients.

Keeping track of your employees’ vaccination status is recommended.

Family Friendly Rights

Originally announced in 2019, this new Employment Bill is expected to be passed in 2022.

This includes the introduction of statutory neonatal leave and pay for parents of babies requiring neonatal care.

Also, employees of maternity leave will now be protected from redundancy for up to 6 months after they come back to work.

The government has also confirmed the introduction of carer’s leave as a new statutory right. This will entitle employees with caring responsibilities to take up to one week of unpaid leave per year from day one.

Third-Party Harassment

In 2022, it is expected that harassment laws will be updated. This will likely include an extension to the time-period employees have to raise tribunal claims. There will also be more protection against harassment from third parties such as clients, customers, and members of the public.

The SSP Rebate Scheme Returns

This scheme was introduced in May 2020 to help small and medium-sized employers fund COVID related sickness absences. It reimbursed eligible employers for their COVID related SSP payments for a maximum of two weeks per person.

It closed on the 30^th September 2021, but the government relaunched it from 21^st December 2021.

Claims can be made under the reopened scheme from mid-January 2022.

Claims may only be made concerning COVID-related absences from 21^st December 2021 onwards.

There is no rebate possible for COVID-related sickness from 1^st October- 20^th December 2021.

For more information on this scheme and how to apply, read our full article here.

Are you concerned about how you’re going to plan for these changes? Or how they are going to impact your business? Drop in to our HR Clinic with our expert HR Adviser Donna Bygrave to help your business. Email employersupport@a4g-llp.co.uk or call 01474 853 856 to book now.