As we approach the end of the tax year, here are five jobs for HR :
1 Publish your gender pay gap report
You have 12 months to publish your organisation's gender pay gap figures from the relevant snapshot date (31st March for the public sector and 5th April for the private and voluntary sectors). Remember to publish before the snapshot date. So, by 30th March and 4th April as appropriate
You must publish your report on your website and on the gender pay gap reporting portal on the gov.uk website.
If your gap is significant, explain how you are reducing it.
2 Comply with national minimum wage increases
The rates for the national minimum wage will increase on 1st April 2023. The hourly rate will increase:
from £9.50 to £10.42 for workers aged 23 and over (the national living wage)
from £9.18 to £10.18 for workers aged 21 or 22
from £6.83 to £7.49 for workers aged 18 to 20
from £4.81 to £5.28 for workers aged under 18 who are no longer of compulsory school age
from £4.81 to £5.28 for apprentices under 19, or over 19 and in the first year of the apprenticeship.
Check your pay rates and where necessary, increase remuneration for the first pay reference period beginning on or after 1st April 2023.
3 Increase statutory family-related pay and sick pay
On 3rd April 2023, the rate of statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental and parental bereavement pay will increase from £156.66 to £172.48.
On 6th April 2023, the rate for statutory sick pay rises from £99.35 to £109.40.
Ensure that you pay people who are currently on this leave at the correct rate and remember to update your policies and procedures that mention the rates.
4 Update your statutory redundancy pay calculations
New limits on employment statutory redundancy pay will come into force on 6th April 2023.
Employers that dismiss employees for redundancy must pay those with two years' service an amount based on the employee's weekly pay, length of service and age.
The limit on a week's pay will increase from £571 to £643.
Calculate your statutory redundancy payments on this new maximum amount for redundancy dismissals on or after 6th April 2023.
5 Manage bank holidays
The Government has announced an additional bank holiday on 8th May 2023, to celebrate the King's coronation. So, there will be five bank holidays in April and May 2023.
Decide how to approach the coronation depending on your employees' contracts of employment. If they grant leave on 'all bank and public holidays', you will be required to grant the extra day as leave. You may choose to do so as a goodwill gesture even if you are not contractually obliged to do so.
Identify potential staffing issues. You may need more staff if your business will be particularly busy on the bank holidays, or you get a spike in requests for annual leave around this time.