NEW INFORMATION TO BE REQUIRED ON PAYSLIPS
The Employment Rights Act 1996 (Itemised Pay Statement) (Amendment) Order 2018 is new legislation that requires employers to provide details of the number of hours worked on payslips.
This is only required when workers get a different wage depending on the hours they have worked. This might be because they have worked overtime, the number of hours they work changes in each pay period, or the rate they get for working certain hours is different.
Also, currently it’s not required that payslips be issued to contractors or freelancers for example, but this is changing in April 2019. To be more specific, this new legislation means that employers will have to provide itemised payslips to every worker on their payroll, not just the people classified as ‘employees’.
INCREASES TO MINIMUM WAGE RATES
The National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage rates change every April, with various factors taken into consideration such as living costs and so the rate is being increased for Minimum Wage by at least a 3.6% from 6th April 2019. This could be a significant increase for your business, especially if you employ multiple young people and apprentices. For comparison between the current rate and how it will change, please refer to the table below.
| Year | 25 and over | 21 to 24 | 18 to 20 | Under 18 | Apprentice |
| April 2018 (current rate) | £7.83 | £7.38 | £5.90 | £4.20 | £3.70 |
| April 2019 | £8.21 | £7.70 | £6.15 | £4.35 | £3.90 |
MINIMUM CONTRIBUTION CHANGES FOR COMPANY PENSIONS
Since the Pensions Act 2008 and subsequent Auto Enrolment scheme were introduced, every employer in the UK is currently required to add their qualifying employees into a pension scheme and pay ongoing contributions. As of 6th April 2019, the minimum contribution from an employer will need to be at least 3% with 8% minimum contribution as a whole (made up of both employer and employee contributions). Auto Enrolment is the responsibility of employers with certain compliance to meet each time you employ a new staff member whereby you must assess their age and earnings to see if they need to be put into a pension scheme, and how much you need to contribute and by when.
If you need more information on these changes please visit The Department of Work and Pensions here or for advice on how these three key changes to Payroll will affect you, whether you source your Payroll Services through LWA or complete it yourself, get in touch with our Payroll Services team in Warrington on 01925 830 830 or call our Manchester office on 0161 905 1801.