Statutory Payment Rates To Increase From April 2012

The Department for Work and Pensions has announced the statutory payment rates for 2012-13:

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay
Additional Statutory Paternity Pay
Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP)

will increase from £128.73 to £135.45 per week

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

will increase from £81.60 to £85.85 per week

For employees earning £107.00 or more per week in 2012-13, the above rate of SMP and SAP will apply for complete pay weeks commencing on or after 1 April 2012 (the first Sunday in April), for SSP this will apply from 6 April 2012. The rates are still subject to Parliamentary approval. If this is not obtained, any further changes will be published before 1 April 2012.

BWF Members are also reminded that the first point at which agency workers can be entitled to equal treatment has now been passed.

Agency workers who began their assignment on or before 1st October 2011 and who have not had any kind of break in employment, will have completed the 12 week qualifying period on Christmas Eve 2011 and will be entitled to the same treatment as other employees with respect to basic employment and working conditions.

These conditions include the same basic hourly pay rate, overtime, shift allowances, unsocial hours’ premiums, payments for difficult or dangerous duties, lunch vouchers, bonuses for the quality and quantity of work, rest breaks and annual leave allowance.

The Agency Worker Regulations came in to force on 1 October, but each worker has to complete a qualifying period of 12 weeks in the job. Employment Tribunals can impose fines on employers found to have breached the new laws or not followed the detail of the new regulations. Acas has issued guidance on the Agency Worker Regulations and what the changes will mean for employers.

If you require assistance on employment matters, feel free to ring our member helpline or log-in to access our employment publications, which include a model statement of main terms of employment, procedures for dealing with ill-health absences, advice on disciplinary matters, and the latest version of our latest Employee Handbook.