The chancellor Jeremy Hunt spoke us all through his Autumn statement recently, announcing help for businesses. However, many believe it offered little help to really support businesses, with the UK now officially entering another recession.
It painted a bleak picture for 2023 and beyond, but let’s look at where it did help business owners and their employees.
The government will support businesses with £13.6 billion which will include freezes and reliefs in the hope to make things easier for everyone. There is however an added worry that the cost of fuel is planned to increase by a lot come March 2023.
But what does it all mean for an employer?
A key point to note for employers is the key changes to the minimum wage.
- For workers aged over 23 it will increase from £9.50 to £10.42 an hour from April 2023.
This will be an annual pay rise worth over £1,600 for a full time worker. - For workers aged 21 to 22 it will increase from £9.18 an hour to £10.18 an hour.
- For workers aged 18 to 20 it will increase from £6.83 an hour to £7.49 an hour.
- And for workers aged 17 and under, apprentices will rise from £4.81 an hour to £5.28 an hour.
Are you looking at your employee contracts and considering if your pay is in line with this? Get in touch if you would like help with these things.
With unemployment expected to rise from 3.6% to 4.9% by 2024, there appears to be a difficult picture here and recruitment could see a wave of applicants readily available for work as well.
There is much for employers to consider. Please drop us a line and get in touch to see if we can help with anything.
