The Government has published the updated rates for the National Living Wage (NLW), National Minimum Wage (NMW) and statutory payments that will apply from April 2025.

Proposed increases to statutory payments:

· Statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance, paternity pay, adoption pay, shared parental pay and parental bereavement pay will increase from £184.30 to £187.70 per week.

· Statutory sick pay will increase from £116.75 to £118.75 per week.

· To qualify for these payments (other than maternity allowance), employees must earn above the lower earnings limit. This is currently £123 per week, but this will increase to £125 per week from April 2025.

Updated rates for National Living Wage and National Minim Wage

· The National Living Wage for those aged 21 and over will be £12.21 per hour (a 6.7% increase on the current rate).

· The National Minimum Wage for 18 to 20 year olds will rise to £10.00 per hour (a 16.3% increase on the current rate). This increase intends to narrow the gap between the NLW and the adult NMW rate.

· The National Minim Wage for 16 to 17 year olds and apprentices (aged under 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship) will increase to £7.55 per hour (a 18% increase on the current rate).

· Employers should check that any existing salary sacrifice arrangements remain compliant once the new NLW and NMW rates take effect.

Increase to NICs:

· From 6 April 2025, employers’ NICs will increase from 13.8% to 15%.

· The per-employee threshold at which employers must start to pay NICs will be reduced from £9,100 per year to £5,000 per year.

Please contact us if you would like more information about the topics raised in this article or any other aspect of employment law at 029 2034 5511 or employment@berrysmith.com.