The New Tax Year will be upon us tomorrow.

As a test to see what you know about the recent changes in legislation let’s see how many of the following questions you can get right!!

● What is the hourly rate for National Minimum Wage?
The rate of National Minimum Wage is age dependant – Under 18 £8, 18-20 £10.85, Over 21 £12.71 per hour.

● Is the National Minimum Wage & the National Living Wage the same thing?
Yes they are however the over 21 rate is often referred to as National Living Wage

● What is the hourly National Minimum Wage for an apprentice?
The Minimum Apprentice Wage is £8 per hour, however anyone over 19 can be on £8 per hour for the first 12 months only

● How much do I need to Earn before I pay National Insurance?
If you earn Below £12,570 per year your are exempt from paying National Insurance

● What is the National Insurance rate for employees earning an income of between £12,570 to £50,270 a year?
The NI rate for employees earning an income of between £12,570 to £50,270 a year (£1,048 to £4,189 a month) is 8%

● What is the National Insurance rate for Self-Employed earning profits between £12,570 and £50,270 a year?
NI contributions are calculated using annual profits. For profits between £12,570 and £50,270 the NI rate will be 6%, and for any profits over £50,270 is 2%

● What is the weekly rate of Statutory Sick Pay?
The statutory sick pay rate is £123.25 or 80% of the employees average weekly earnings, Whichever is lower

● Do you have to wait 3 days before you are eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
No this was stopped in April 2026

● How many weeks Statutory Sick Pay are you entitled to?
Eligible employees can claim statutory sick pay for the days they would have normally worked, up to a maximum of 28 weeks

● I’m Pregnant how much maternity pay am I entitled to
You will receive 6 weeks at 90% of the qualifying earnings which is calculated by your maternity leave start date, after this you should received 33 weeks at the lower Statutory Maternity pay rate

● What is the weekly rate of Statutory Maternity Pay?
The weekly rate for statutory maternity/paternity/adoption pay, shared parental pay and parental bereavement pay is £194.32

● At what age do you become eligible for auto enrolment into a pension scheme
22

● True or False? All employers have to re-enrol employees into their workplace pension every 3 years?
True – Every three years you must put certain staff who have left your pension scheme back into it. This is called re-enrolment. Whether you have staff to put back into your scheme or not, you must complete a re-declaration of compliance to tell us how you have met your duties

● What is the current rate of income tax?
Basic Rate of tax is 20% up to earnings of £50,270, Higher Rate 40% up to earnings of £125,140, Additional Rate over £125.140 is 45%

“Remember, we are only a phone call away if you have any payroll questions or issues, we’re happy to help in any way we can.”
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