WITH April just round the corner you can expect a raft of changes in the law.

Most of the new rules relate to employment, with laws coming into force from April 1.

Firstly, both the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) will increase.The “living wage”, for people aged 25 or over, will rise to £8.21 next April, up from £7.38 an hour now.

Next, the income tax threshold will increase to £12,500 so you don't have to pay tax until you earn at least that much

And the threshold for the higher rate of income tax - the 40% rate - will increase to £50,000-a-year.

The next law changes come on April 6, with the first rule change referring to the amount of money employees can make from a tribunal claim.

Unfair dismissal claims can now result in a payour of £102,194.

Secondly, the reporting of gender pay gaps will also change on that date.

Now, firm's employing more than 250 people will be asked to publish figures showing how the pay people in comparable roles.

The legal right to a payslip will also be extended to include non-employees such as contractors and freelancers.

Employers will also be obliged to include the total number of hours worked on payslips for employees whose wages vary.

Plus, all VAT-registered businesses with taxable turnover above the VAT registration threshold will have to keep VAT records in digital form and file their VAT returns using software.

Pensions are also set for a revamp, with both pension-credit payments rising by 2.4 percent from the beginning of April.

Guarantee credit is set to go up £163 to £167.25 per week for a single person and from £248.80 to £255.25 for a couple. Savings credit, will see its cap rise from £13.40 to £13.72 for a single person, and from £14.99 to £15.35 a week for a couple.

The minimum contributions for auto-enrolment pension schemes will increase for employers and employees from April 2019.

Existing rules mean employers must contribute a minimum of 2% of a worker’s pre-tax salary, with the worker contributing 3%.

Under the new rules, employers and employees will now have to contribute a minimum of 3% and 5% respectively.

The qualifying criteria for statutory sick pay (SSP) will change from April 6, 2019, as well as the amount of money staff will be entitled to earn each week.

This means individuals will need to earn at least £118 per week in order to qualify for weekly payments of £94.25. Similarly, the rate of pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental pay will increase to £148.68 per week from the April 7, 2019.

The amount of income you can earn before you pay tax - the personal allowance - increases from £11,850 to £12,500 on April 6, 2019.

Basic rate tax will be still payable on taxable income up to £34,500 and the higher rate threshold will be increased from £46,350 to £50,000.