No doubt many of you will have been paying close attention to the Chancellor's recent Budget statement. So was there anything in there for the employment lawyers, HR professionals and line managers to get excited about?

Erm, not really…

In truth, the pickings were pretty slim.  Of course, there will be various changes to tax rates and allowances here and there, but we’ll let the accountants and finance teams worry about those.  What about something a bit ‘meatier’? Frankly, the only substantive point to note was the confirmation that the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates are set to increase, with a fairly significant rise to some of the higher rates.

With effect from 1 April 2022:

·      The ‘National Living Wage’ (for 23 and overs) goes from £8.91 to £9.50

·      The NMW rate for those aged 21 to 22 goes from £8.36 to £9.18

·      The NMW rate for those aged 18 to 20 goes from £6.56 to £6.83

·      The NMW rate for those under 18 goes from £4.62 to £4.81

·      The ‘Apprenticeship Rate’ goes from £4.30 to £4.81.

If you have any concerns about how the National Minimum Wage rates might affect your business, please get in touch.

Anything else?

Well, the government has fleshed out some of its spending plans for projects aimed at ‘up skilling’ and retraining our workforce as part of its ‘Plan for Jobs’ initiative. There have also been some recent announcements about funding arrangements for apprenticeships.However, that’s just about it.  

Should we be disappointed?

Perhaps not. After all, given the ups and downs of the last 18 months, maybe a period of relative calm is exactly what we need.