It’s that time of year again! There are a number of changes to compensation limits and pay rates which will be of interest to HR professionals.
Compensation limits
Revisions to compensation limits for certain tribunal awards and other statutory payments that take effect from 6 April 2017 are as follows:
| Compensation limit | Current figure | From 6 April 2017
|
| Maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal | £78,962 | £80,541 |
| Maximum limit on a weeks’ pay | £479 | £489 |
| Minimum basic award for certain automatically unfair dismissals (dismissals for reasons of trade union membership or activities, health and safety duties, occupational pension scheme trustee duties or acting as an employee representative or workforce representative) | £5,853 | £5,970 |
| Statutory redundancy payment/Unfair dismissal basic award: up to 30 weeks’ pay | £14,370 | £14,670 |
In cases involving dismissal, the new figures will apply where the effective date of termination falls on or after 6 April 2017. The current limits will remain in force where termination takes place before this date.
Change to maternity, paternity and adoption pay
The prescribed rate is changed every April. The prescribed weekly rate for SMP, SPP and SAP from 2 April 2017 is £140.98 (it was previously £139.58). This also applies to maternity allowance and shared parental pay.
Change to statutory sick pay
Statutory sick pay should be paid at the rate of £89.35 per week with effect from 6 April 2017 (the previous rate was £88.45 per week).
National minimum wage
Details of changes to the national minimum wage which took effect on 1 April 2017 can be found in our previous blog post here.
For more information on how these changes might affect you please contact the Devonshires Employment Team.
