Each year, employers need to be aware of changes to certain employment law payments and awards
Given that employment law is a devolved responsibility, we always have one set that applies to Great Britain and another that applies in Northern Ireland.
In particular, employers need to be aware of the following:
- The value of a ‘week’s pay’ for Statutory Redundancy Pay purposes
- The daily amount of the ‘guarantee’ payment and
- The maximum compensatory award in unfair dismissal claims
On 25 February 2022, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) laid The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2022. This reflects the fact that the rates applying from 06 April 2021 have been increased by the value of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) which was 4.9% in the relevant period of assessment (September 2020 to September 2021).
The increases are effective from 06 April 2022 which is referred to as the ‘appropriate date’. This is an important date, for example, in a redundancy situation, the new weekly statutory minimum payment applies where the date of the redundancy is on or after 06 April 2022.
For completeness (and as per the schedule of the 2022 Order), the rates are shown below, compared to those applying from 06 April 2021:
|
Statutory Provision Effective:
|
06 April 2021
|
06 April 2022
|
|
Award for unlawful inducement relating to union membership or activities, or to collective bargaining
|
£4,341
|
£4,554
|
|
Minimum basic award for unfair dismissal or selection for redundancy on grounds related to union membership or activities
|
£6,634
|
£6,959
|
|
Minimum compensation awarded for exclusion or expulsion from a trade union
|
£10,132
|
£10,628
|
|
Limit on daily amount of guarantee payment
|
£30
|
£31
|
|
Minimum amount of basic award of compensation where dismissal is unfair
|
£6,634
|
£6,959
|
|
Limit on amount of compensatory award for unfair dismissal
|
£89,493
|
£93,878
|
|
Maximum weekly amount paid from National Insurance Fund to pay contractual debts owed on the insolvency of the employer
|
£544
|
£571
|
|
Maximum weekly amount of a basic or additional award of compensation for unfair dismissal or redundancy payment
|
£544
|
£571
|
Note that these amounts do not apply in Northern Ireland. At the time of writing, these are not known and we will publish this information when they are known.
