There are a number of employment law changes which could affect your payroll from April 2019 onwards. You may need to make changes to ensure you are compliant and become familiar with the new requirements in good time.
All employers will be required to provide a payslip to all those recognised as a ‘worker’ and to show hours on payslips, where the worker’s pay varies by the amount of time worked. Affected employers will need to review and potentially change the way they issue payslips.
Minimum pension contributions for auto-enrolment pension schemes increase from 5% to 8% in April 2019. Employers must contribute a minimum of 3% of an eligible worker’s pre-tax salary, with the employee contributing the balance.
Budget changes to NMW and NLW from 1st April 2019:
- The National Living wage for over 25’s increases to £8.21 per hour from £7.83.
- The National Minimum Wage for 21 – 24’s increases to £7.70 per hour from £7.38.
- The National Minimum Wage for 18 – 20’s increases to £6.15 per hour from £5.90.
- The National Minimum Wage for under 18’s increases to £4.35 per hour from £4.20.
- The Apprentice rate increases to £3.90 per hour from £3.70
The lower earnings threshold also increases in April 2019:
- The weekly earnings threshold for National Insurance and Statutory payments increases from £116 to £118 per week.
- Statutory Sick pay increases from £92.05 to £94.25 per week.
- Statutory Maternity/Paternity/Adoption Pay increases from £145.18 to £148.68 per week.
Private sector organisations with 250 or more employees must publish their gender gap figures on 4th April 2019.
A new Postgraduate loan (PGL) deduction starts in April 2019. The threshold is £21,000 and the deduction rate is 6%. The PGL will run concurrently with plan 1 and plan 2 repayments if the employee has these in place.
At JCS Accountants we have a friendly and personable Payroll team who are able to advise you on these updates and provide you with bespoke and professional payroll services.
If you would like our help, please call 0208 643 1166 or email us at payroll@jcssutton.co.uk
Dick Haffenden
