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Changes in employment law in April 2025

This article addresses some of the key changes to statutory rates that are set to take effect from 6th April 2025.

New rates for certain awards in the Employment Tribunal

  1. The cap on a week’s pay for statutory redundancy pay and the unfair dismissal basic award calculations will increase from £700 to £719.
  2. The cap on unfair dismissal compensatory awards for unfair dismissal will rise from £115,115 to £118,223.
  3. The statutory guarantee pay will increase from £38 to £39 per day.

New rates for family leave payments

  1. The prescribed rate for 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, or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. The same increase applies to maternity allowance from 7 April 2025.
  2. 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.
  3. The same rate will apply where an employee exercises the new right to take neonatal care leave. For more information on this topic, check our article on Neonatal Leave and Pay.

Statutory sick pay

  1. Statutory sick pay will increase from £116.75 to £118.75 per week.
  2. Updated rates for National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW)
  3. The National Living Wage for those aged 21 and over will be £12.21 per hour (a 6.7% increase on the current rate).
  4. 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.
  5. The National Minimum 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 (an 18% increase on the current rate).

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.