• SSP increased to £87.55 per week and SMP, SPP and SAP increased to £138.18 per week (6 April 2014)
    Abolition of SSP record keeping obligations (6 April 2014)
  • Abolition of the SSP percentage threshold scheme, which enabled employers to partially recover SSP from HMRC (6 April 2014)
  • Pre-claim Acas conciliation will require claimants to lodge details of any potential claim with Acas before they can submit an employment tribunal claim (available from 6 April 2014 but not mandatory until 6 May 2014)
  • Increase in statutory compensation limits (for dismissals on or after 6 April 2014), including:
    • Maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal increases to £76,574 (or 52 weeks' gross pay, if lower)
    • Cap on a week's pay for statutory redundancy payment / unfair dismissal basic award will increase to £464
  • Introduction of the power for employment tribunals to impose financial penalties (of up to £5,000) on employers who lose an employment tribunal claim, if the employer's breach has 'aggravating features' (6 April 2014)
  • Repeal of the discrimination questionnaire procedure (for acts of discrimination on or after 6 April 2014). A complainant may still ask a respondent questions about discrimination in the workplace, and a tribunal can still draw negative inferences from a refusal to respond.  Acas has published guidance on how employers should deal with questions about discrimination.
  • Changes to the whistleblowing regulations make members of the House of Commons (MPs) "prescribed persons" to whom a whistleblower may, under certain circumstances, make a protected disclosure (6 April 2014)