April sees an increase to statutory payments
This year will see the first increase in 2 years to statutory rates for maternity pay, shared parental pay, paternity pay, adoption pay and sick pay, as these rates have been frozen since April 2015.
Statutory Maternity, Shared Parental Pay, Paternity and Adoption
On 2 April 2017 the weekly amount of statutory maternity pay, statutory shared parental pay, statutory paternity pay and statutory adoption pay will increase from £139.58 to £140.98.
- Statutory maternity pay and statutory adoption pay is paid at 90% of the employees weekly wage for the first 6 weeks and at 90% of their weekly wage or £140.98 (depending on which one is lower) for the remaining 33 weeks.
- Employees taking paternity pay can choose to take either 1 or 2 weeks consecutive leave and are paid at 90% of their weekly wage or £140.98 (depending on which one is lower).
- Shared parental leave is paid at 90% of the employees weekly wage or £140.98 (depending on which one is lower).
Sick Pay
On 6 April 2017 the weekly amount for statutory sick pay is set to increase from £88.45 to £89.35 and will be paid by the employer for up to 28 weeks.
To be eligible for the above payments the individual average earnings must be equal to or higher than the lower earnings limit which is also set to increase from £112 to £113 in April 2017.
It is important for all business owners to be aware of the changes that are coming into place and make sure that these changes are implemented by the relevant dates.
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