Categories

Here is a presentation on Sickness. To start the presentation, click here.

Download the booklet that accompanies the presentation here

  • Every year, you’ll need to remember that changes to the minimum wage are implemented that will possibly affect your staff’s wages
  • This usually happens in April, but can be any time of the year, so it is important you keep up to date with any announcements from the Government
  • If staff are on term-time only contracts, remember that the change must be implemented over the remaining working weeks in the school year. See slides in the wages webinar for worked examples
  • See next slide for the minimum wage rates for the financial year starting in April 2025
  • 21 and over (£12.21); 18 to 20 (£10.00); Under 18 (£7.55); Apprentice (£7.55)
  • Note that it’s important to keep a record of the staff date of birth as well as the rates, as it’s possible that their hourly rate may need to be increased on their birthday as well as when the minimum wage is increased
  • It is against the law to pay someone less than the minimum wage, so this must be implemented when any changes are made
  • Every individual has the right to earn a specific amount of income tax-free every financial year
  • The sum for the financial year 2025/26 is £12,570, so anything earned over this threshold will be taxed at 20%, up to £50,270. Then taxed at 40% or 45% over this.
  • Example: If someone’s salary is £20,000 per year, they would be paying: » (£20,000 – £12,570) = £7,430
    » 20% of £7,430 = £1,486 of income tax in the financial year 2025/26
  • Whether you work one job, or several jobs at the same time, the tax-free income threshold is fixed for everyone, which will be reflected in everyone’s tax code(s)
  • Every month, the HMRC will look at how much income each individual has received for the whole financial year when working out the tax, not solely at that particular month’s salary
  • By doing this, if someone’s salary varies month to month, the total income tax paid for the year will be correct, which will ensure they won’t have paid too much/too little income tax come the end of the financial year
  • It’s the individual’s responsibility to ensure their tax code is correct, not the employer’s, so they’ll need to contact the HMRC directly if there’s an issue, and they wish to change their tax code or to get it split over more than one job. The contact numbers are stated below:
  • » Welsh Line: 0300 200 1900
  • » English Line: 0300 200 3300
  • An individual with one job only, or that has all of their personal tax free allowance of £12,570 on one job will be C1257L
  • Note that 12,570 / 10 = 1257, so this is where the number in the tax code comes from. The C at the start is because we’re in Wales, and the L at the end denotes the right to the standard tax-free allowance
  • If someone has more than one job, the numbers within their tax codes for each one will add up to make 1257, or they can have their whole tax free allowance on one of the jobs, and leave the rest on BR tax code, which means that every penny earned in that employment will be taxed at the 20% rate
    » https://www.gov.uk/tax-codes
  • Any income an individual receives above the threshold of £1,048 a month, up to £4,189 gross, will have an 8% Employee National Insurance deduction. Monthly gross income over £4,189 will have a 2% deduction.
  • Example: If a member of staff earns £1,500 one month, there will be an employee contribution of (£1,500 – £1,048) x 8% = £36.16 paid to HMRC from their gross pay
  • The same calculation can be used to work out the Employer contribution, but at 15% on anything over £416.66 per month. Remember from the HMRC webinar that the first £10,500 of Employer N.I. per financial year doesn’t have to be paid – see the HMRC webinar for more information on the Employment Allowance
  • Contrary to tax, National Insurance only looks at the current month’s income when calculating contributions, not on the whole financial year to date
  • Payable for 39 weeks
  • See the Cylch Meithrin Staff Handbook on the Cylch Meithrin Policies page of the Mudiad Meithrin Intranet for full information on maternity leave, paternity leave, shared parental leave and adoption leave.
  • First 6 weeks on 90% of the staff member’s average gross earnings
  • Next 33 weeks on £187.18 per week, or 90% of average earnings – whichever is lower
  • £187.18 is the Statutory Maternity Pay rate for 2025/26, this will change every financial year
  • The employer receives a minimum of 92% of the Statutory Maternity Pay back from HMRC – see our webinar on HMRC for more information on how to reclaim this money or:
    » Get financial help with statutory pay: What you can reclaim – GOV.UK
  • Payable for 2 weeks but they can choose to take only one week of leave
  • Statutory pay is £187.18 per week, or 90% of average earnings – whichever is lower
  • £187.18 is the statutory paternity pay rate for 2025/26, this will change every financial year
  • See the Cylch Meithrin Staff Handbook on the Cylch Meithrin Policies page of the Mudiad Meithrin Intranet for full information on maternity leave, paternity leave, shared parental leave and adoption leave.
  • The employer receives a minimum of 92% of the Statutory Paternity Pay back from HMRC – see our webinar on HMRC for more information on how to reclaim this money, or:
    » Get financial help with statutory pay: What you can reclaim – GOV.UK
  • Payable for up to 28 weeks
  • £118.75 per week
  • You can offer more than this if your company has a sick pay scheme, but you cannot offer less than this.
  • See the Cylch Meithrin Staff Handbook on the Cylch Meithrin Policies page of the Mudiad Meithrin Intranet for full information on sick pay, monitoring sickness absence and long-term sickness.
  • » Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): employer guide: Overview – GOV.UK
  • The thresholds for the current tax year:
Payments Reference Period
2025/26 Annual 1 week Fortnight 4 weeks 1 month 1 quarter Half yearly
Lower level of qualifying earnings £6,240 £120 £240 £480 £520 £1,560 £3,120
Earnings trigger for automatic enrolment £10,000 £192 £384 £768 £833 £2,499 £4,998
Upper level of qualifying earnings £50,270 £967 £1,934 £3,867 £4,189 £12,568 £25,135
  • There is more information on your duties as an employer to automatically enrol workers into a pension scheme in our pensions webinar and on the Pensions Regulator’s website:
  • Employers | The Pensions Regulator