Written by HR Director, Nicola Bell
Nicola Bell, HR Director, has outlined the increases in statutory rates that came into effect from 1 April 2023.
National Minimum Wage
From 1 April 2023, the national minimum wage has increased to the below:
- Aged 23 and above (national living wage rate), £10.42 an hour – up from £9.50
- Aged 21 to 22 inclusive, £10.18 an hour – up from £9.18
- Aged 18 to 20 inclusive, £7.49 an hour – up from £6.83
- Aged under 18 (but above compulsory school leaving age), £5.28 an hour – up from £4.81
With these significant increases, employers and businesses must ensure that they comply with the requirements of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015. A lot of businesses who are penalised for not paying the appropriate rates are often caught out on one of the technicalities, such as deducting cost of the uniform (a very complex area).
Due to the niche requirements, case law must be understood in addition to the HMRC guidance, so we urge employers who have paid staff at the NMW to seek advice and confirm they are compliant.
Family-related statutory pay
Statutory maternity pay (SMP), paternity (SPP), adoption (SAP) and shared parental pay (SSPP) increased to £172.48 per week or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). This has increased from £156.66 in 2022.
Maternity allowance has also increased from £156.66 per week to £172.48 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
These rates apply from 2nd April 2023.
Statutory redundancy pay and unfair dismissal
If you were made redundant on or after 6th April 2023, the weekly pay is capped at £643, an increase from £571 in 2022. The maximum statutory redundancy pay you can get is £19,290. These amounts will be lower if you were made redundant before 6 April 2023.
Statutory sick pay (SSP)
From 6th April 2023, SSP rates have increased to the below:
| Unrounded daily rates | Number of qualifying days in week |
| £15.6285 | 7 |
| £18.2333 | 6 |
| £21.88 | 5 |
| £27.35 | 4 |
| £36.4666 | 3 |
| £54.70 | 2 |
| £109.40 | 1 |
The requirement for fit-to-work notes to be signed in ink will also be removed, enabling notes to be completed digitally.
What next?
If you have any queries, or would like to discuss the statutory rate increases, please reach out to one of our experts here at Gravita.
