The new tax year brings with it a seasonal shower of 6th April changes to employment related laws, including: 

  • the commencement of Real Time Information PAYE reporting
  • a reduction in the consultation period where redundancy affects 100 or more employees from 90 to 45 days
  • statutory sick pay rises from £85.85 to £86.70
  • maternity, paternity and adoption pay will also increase from £135.45 to £136.78 per week
  • the personal allowance for earnings before tax will rise to £9,440 in the 2013/14 tax year and
  • the top rate of income tax affecting those earning £150,000 or more will drop from 50 to 45%.

Real Time Information

Employers are required to report PAYE deductions to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) prior to, or at the time of, paying employees rather than at the end of the year, under the new real time information scheme. Until 5 October 2013, employers with fewer than 50 employees can send information to HMRC by the date of their regular payroll run, but no later than the end of the tax month. Employers with 5,000 or more employees will agree start dates with HMRC beginning June 2013. An explanation of the changes can be viewed on the HMRC website.

Redundancy consultation

The consultation period for redundancies of 100 or more people is now halved from 90 to 45 days, meaning that once collective consultation has ended and employers are ready to give notice, that notice of termination can expire 45 days earlier than before, leading to considerable savings for employers needing to cut back. It is a common misconception that the actual consultations periods will be universally reduced by this change, as good faith consultation was always capable of ending way before the 90 day limit on any connected redundancy dismissal taking effect.

More changes ahead

Constant change is here to stay, with myriad developments in employment law over the next couple of years at least. 2013 will see wholesale changes, including substantially re-written employment tribunal procedures and the introduction of controversial claim and hearing fees in July and amendments to whistleblower protection legislation and new limits to the fee cap for unfair dismissal claims.

Our forthcoming Employment Law ALERT seminar in 25 April is now booked to capacity, but if you are in search of more information about these and the other forthcoming changes, then please contact Peter Jones by emailing Peter or calling him on 08450 990045, or speak to your usual contact in the Employment Team.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.