April 2025
From 6 April 2025, several new employment rights and statutory updates took effect.
These apply to businesses of all sizes and across all sectors.
Statutory rates increased
• National Living Wage increased to £12.21 per hour for workers aged 21 and over
• Statutory Sick Pay increased to £118.75 per week
• Family-related pay including maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, and bereavement pay rose to £187.18 per week
• The Lower Earnings Limit for eligibility increased to £125 per week
• The weekly cap for statutory redundancy pay rose to £719 per week
• The maximum compensation for unfair dismissal increased to £118,223
Neonatal care leave and pay
• Eligible parents can now take up to 12 weeks of paid leave if their baby is admitted to neonatal care within the first 28 days after birth for a stay of 7 or more consecutive days
• This is in addition to other statutory parental leave entitlements
Unpaid carer’s leave introduced
• Employees can now take up to 5 days of unpaid leave each year to care for a dependent with a long-term care need
• This right is available from day one of employment
Flexible working changes
• The right to request flexible working now applies from day one
• Employees can now make two requests per year
• Employers must respond within two months
Extended redundancy protection
• Pregnant employees are now protected from redundancy from the point they notify their employer
• Those returning from maternity, adoption or shared parental leave now have redundancy protection for 18 months post birth date of the baby
Legal duty to prevent harassment
• A new duty requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work
• This includes harassment by third parties such as customers or suppliers
• Failing to meet this duty can result in tribunal awards being increased by up to 25 percent