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Soooo… the Autumn Statement happened last week – do we believe it or not?  Well regardless of the answer to that, it is good for us to know what the proposed changes would mean if they do happen.  At Precept we thought we would set out your bite sized nuggets of information, cutting out the rubbish and giving you what you need to know!

National Insurance

The most talked about announcement has been the reduction in employee National Insurance from 12% to 10%, this comes into effect from the 6 January 2024. For the average salary of £35,000, this will mean a saving of around £450 a year.  Make sure your payroll is updated!

Minimum Wage

The National Living Wage (which is currently for workers over the age of 23), is set to increase from £10.42 per hour to £11.44 per hour, and will also extend to 21 and 22 year olds.  You will of course get our cheat sheet on all the new rates before April next year.

Benefits and Pension

Whilst they have set out that the criteria for entitlement will become more difficult, benefits are set to rise by 6.7% and pensions by 8.5%.   Again, one for payroll!

Whilst good news for workers, the living wage increase in cost and scope will mean an increase in costs for businesses, which may have a knock-on effect for businesses meaning potential difficult decisions having to be made by them such as considering redundancies or reduction in hours being offered to causal workers.  Never fear – we are here to help.  The team are advising a few clients on some big restructures at the moment to allow businesses to adapt and continue to thrive.  Give us a shout if you need any help – because we would love to help you!