It is that time of the year when employment law changes traditionally take effect. In 2023, there have been significant increases in several rates and limits. This article presents a summary of the most important changes taking effect in April 2023.

Increases to UK national minimum wage and NLW

The government will implement the Low Pay Commission's (LPC's) recommendations in full and the national living wage (NLW) will increase by 9.7% in April 2023 to 10.42. This is consistent with the government's target of two-thirds of median earnings by 2024.

The LPC has estimated that an increase of 6.3% will be required in 2024 (when average wage growth is expected to have slowed).

The new rates that will come into force on 1 April 2023 are as follows:

• national living wage (age 23 and above) – 10.42;
• age 21-22 – 10.18;
• age 18-20 – 7.49; and
• age 16-17 – 5.28.

The accommodation offset will also rise to 9.10 per day.

This significant increase may mean that businesses which have previously paid little attention to NLW compliance on the assumption that their staff are paid comfortably above NLW levels will now find that more employees are close to statutory minimums. In practice, this means that more employers may need to pay closer attention to the details of the legal framework. For example, employers may want to review contracts and arrangements for lower paid staff to identify areas of risk and areas where their existing practices might not take sufficient account of the NLW...

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