Upcoming Employment Law Dates for April 2023
1st April 2023: National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage increases
The National Living Wage is the minimum amount that workers aged over 23 must be paid. The National Minimum Wage is the minimum amount that must be paid to workers aged under 23. The NLW and NMW are both legal requirements.
The NLW is different from the UK Living Wage and the London Living Wage, which is calculated by the Living Wage Foundation. The UK Living Wage and the London Living Wage are voluntary pay benchmarks that employers can sign up to if they wish and are not legally binding requirements
Age | Rate from 1 April 2021 | Rate from 1 April 2022 | Rate from 1 April 2023 |
Workers aged 23 and over (NLW) | £8.91 | £9.50 | £10.42 |
Workers aged 21-22 | £8.36 | £9.18 | £10.18 |
Development rate for workers aged 18-20 | £6.56 | £6.83 | £7.49 |
Young workers rate for workers aged 16-17 | £4.62 | £4.81 | £5.28 |
Apprentices under 19, or over 19 and in the first year of the apprenticeship | £4.30 | £4.81 | £5.28 |
April 2023: Statutory Maternity/Paternity/Adoption/Shared Parental/Parental Bereavement Pay increases
The rate for 2023/24 for statutory maternity (SMP), paternity (SPP), adoption (SAP), parental bereavement (SPBP) and shared parental pay (ShPP) will increase from £156.66 to £172.48 per week.
The minimum weekly amount an individual must earn to be entitled to these payments will remain at £123.
Exact dates of implementation are yet to be confirmed. Based on previous years, it is expected that SMP, SPP etc will increase on 2 April 2023 and SSP will increase on 6 April 2023.
6th April 2023: Statutory Sick Pay increases
SSP will increase from £99.35 per week to £109.40. The minimum weekly amount an individual must earn to be entitled to these payments will remain at £123.
Employers who have employees on sickness absence, or maternity leave etc, in the run up to April 2023, must remember to factor in the increases for these employees where their absence continues past the rate change date, as well as employees who go on sick leave, maternity leave etc after the new rates are in place.
6th April 2023: Compensation limits, statutory guarantee pay and weekly redundancy payments increases
Applicable in England, Scotland and Wales.
| Payments | From 6 April 2020 | From 6 April 2021 | From 6 April 2022 |
| Limit on guarantee payments | £30 | £30 | £31 |
| Limit on a week’s pay for calculating redundancy and unfair dismissal basic award | £538 | £544 | £571 |
| Maximum basic award for unfair dismissal and statutory redundancy payment (30 weeks’ pay subject to the limit on week’s pay) | £16,140 | £16,320 | £17,130 |
| Minimum basic award for dismissal on trade union, health and safety, occupational pension scheme trustee, employee representative and on working time grounds only | £6,562 | £6,634 | £6,959 |
| Maximum award for unlawful inducement relating to trade union membership or activities, or collective bargaining | £4,294 | £4,341 | £4,554 |
| Maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal | A year’s pay subject to max cap of £88,519 | A year’s pay subject to max cap of £89,493 | A year’s pay subject to max cap of £93,878 |
| Minimum compensation for employees excluded/expelled from trade union | £10,022 | £10,132 | £10,628 |
| Contract claims (if a claim for breach of contract (eg wrongful dismissal) is brought in an employment tribunal, compensation is capped at £25,000. If the claim is for more than £25,000, it can be made in the county court or high court | £25,000 | £25,000 | £25,000 |
Source: CIPD.
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