April Statutory Changes
1 April: National minimum wage (NMW) will rise again, giving all minimum wage workers a pay increase.
6 April: New Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rules mean qualifying staff will receive £94.25 per week.
Auto-enrolment minimum contributions increase: employees will contribute 5%, employers 3%.
Payslips need to be issued to both 'workers' and 'employees' and there is a new requirement to include total number of hours worked.
7 April: New rates for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental pay.
Asda suffer fresh blow in equal pay dispute
Asda’s predominately female shop workers are now one step closer to victory in their battle over equal pay, after the Court of Appeal agreed that they shared ‘common terms and conditions’ with the supermarket’s predominately male warehouse staff.
Case law
In Royal Mail Ltd v Efobi, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the burden of proof in a discrimination claim initially lies with the claimant to present evidence of unlawful behaviour, before the employer is required to provide a non-discriminatory explanation.