New National Minimum Wage/National Living Wage
Due to the announcement made in October last year by Phillip Hammond in his Autumn budget, whereby based on recommendations made by the Low Pay Commission (LPC) to the Secretary of State, the government accepted to increase the rates of National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage as from 1st April 2018.
With this in mind please see below the new rates:
| Type of Payment | Current Rates | As From 1st April 2018 |
| Workers aged 25 and over (minimum rate per hour) | £7.50 | £7.83 |
| Workers aged 21 and over (minimum rate per hour) | £7.05 | £7.38 |
| Workers aged 18-20 (minimum rate per hour) | £5.60 | £5.90 |
| Workers aged under 16 and 17 (minimum rate per hour) | £4.05 | £4.20 |
| Apprentices under 19 (or aged 19 and over in the first year of their apprenticeship) | £3.50 | £3.70 |
New Statutory Maternity/Sick Pay/Shared Parental Pay/Adoption Rates
As from 1st April 2018 there are new rates and increases to the following types of payment
| Type of Payment | Rates as from 1st April 2018 |
| Statutory Sick Pay | £92.05 |
| Statutory Maternity Pay (higher rate) | 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings |
| Statutory Maternity Pay (basic rate) | £145.18 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
| Statutory Paternity Pay | £145.18 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
| Statutory Adoption Pay (higher rate) | 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings |
| Statutory Adoption Pay (basic rate) | £145.18 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
| Shared Parental Pay | £145.18 or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
Pension Automatic Enrolment – Minimum Contribution Rates
1st April 2018 will see the first increase to the employer and worker contribution for pension payment under the automatic enrolment provisions. The employer’s contribution goes up from 1% to 2% and the worker contribution goes up from 1% to 3%. See the table below
|
Effective Date |
Employer Min. Contribution | Employee Contribution | Total Min. Contribution |
| Before 05/04/18 | 1% | 1% | 2% |
| 06/04/18 – 05/04/19 | 2% | 3% | 5% |
| 06/04/19 Onwards | 3% | 5% | 8% |
For further information regarding automatic enrolment the Pension Regulator has provided a number of tools and guidance to help employers manage the changes and can be viewed at www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk