5 April marks the end of one tax year and the 6 April indicates the beginning of a new one. It therefore feels like a good time to remind employers of changes that are coming into effect this April and deadlines that will be due.
Firstly, a reminder of PAYE deadlines that are coming up in the next few months:
| 22 March 2022 | PAYE due for the tax month ended 5 March (if paying electronically – 19th if not) |
| 22 April 2022 | PAYE due for the tax month ended 5 April (if paying electronically – 19th if not) |
| 22 April 2022 | PAYE due for the quarter ended 5 April (if paying electronically – 19th if not) |
| 22 May 2022 | PAYE due for the month ended 5 May (if paying electronically – 19th if not) |
| 31 May 2022 | Deadline for providing P60’s for each employee working for the business on 5 April 2022 |
| 22 June 2022 | PAYE due for the month ended 5 June (if paying electronically – 19th if not) |
| 6 July 2022 | Deadline for filing Expenses and Benefits Forms P11D(b), P9D and P11D |
| 22 July 2022 | PAYE and Class 1A NIC payment deadline date (if paying electronically – 19th if not) |
Secondly, a reminder of changes coming into effect from 6th April 2022:
National Insurance Increases – (Health and Social Care Levy)
From 6 April 2022, the employers National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will increase from 13.8% to 15.05% and employees NICs will increase from 12% to 13.25% on earnings in excess of the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL).
From 6 April 2023, this levy will be separated from NICs and will be shown on payslips as Health and Social Care Levy.
All employers must include a message on the employees payslips between 6 April 2022 and 5 April 2023 stating “1.25% uplift in NICs funds NHS, health and social care”.
Please ensure that your software is being updated to deal with this increase and is able to deal with the message that is required on payslips.
National Minimum Wage Changes
Yet again we see some major increases to the National Minimum Wage coming into effect from April 2022. With large increases to the 21 and 22 age bracket (9.8%) and the National Living Wage for those over 23 which sees increases of 6.6%.
Rates will be as follows from April 2022 (based on legislation in place prior to the Spring Statement on 23 March 2022):
| From April 2022 | Current Rate | Increase | |
| National Living Wage (>23 years old) | £9.50 | £8.91 | 6.6% |
| 21-22 Year Old | £9.18 | £8.36 | 9.8% |
| 18-20 Year Old | £6.83 | £6.56 | 4.1% |
| 16-17 Year Old | £4.81 | £4.62 | 4.1% |
| Apprentice Rate | £4.81 | £4.30 | 11.9% |
To put this into context, I have shown 2 examples below and the increases that can be expected including the impact of the increased National Insurance:
| Current Salary |
Current Employer Costs |
Current Total Cost |
From April 2022 Current Salary | From April 2022 Employer Costs |
From April 2022 Total Cost |
|
| Employee aged 21 working 35 hours a week | £15,215 | £1,035 | £16,250 | £16,707 | £1,384 | £18,091 |
| Employee aged 30 working 35 hours a week | £16,216 | £1,203 | £17,419 | £17,290 | £1,490 | £18,780 |
For sectors that ordinarily rely of staff that are paid at minimum wage, this will see some increased costs for the business that will need to be managed through price increases for the services, if not – a reduction in bottom line profits will take effect.
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Disclaimer
The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the Author and other professionals may express different views. They may not be the views of Lambert Chapman LLP. The material in the article cannot and should not be considered as exhaustive. Professional advice should be sought in connection with any of the issues contained in the article and the implementation of any actions.