Scottish law changes coming into effect in April - including car tax and living wage changes

As we enter April, several Scottish laws are set to change and/or come into effect, including changes to minimum and living wage amounts, as well as increases

Several Scottish laws will change or come into effect tomorrow, April 1.

As we enter a new month, there will be changes to minimum and living wage amounts, and increases in car tax. The new Disclosure (Scotland) Act of 2020 is also set to come into effect this month, which aims to simplify the process for disclosing criminal history information.

We've summarised some of the main changes for April, which you can expect to see in the coming weeks. Here are the biggest changes to Scottish law that will come into effect from Tuesday, April 1.

Increase of National Living Wage

From April, the National Living Wage will increase to £12.21 per hour for employees aged 21 and over.

National Minimum Wage for those aged 18-20 will also increase from £8.60 to £10.00 per hour, and the minimum wage for those aged 16-17 and apprentices will increase from £6.40 to £7.55 per hour.

Other changes to Scottish Employment Law

April will also see adjustments to statutory rates for family leave, sick pay, and redundancy pay, and the introduction of neonatal care leave and pay.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will increases to £118.75 per week, and statutory Maternity Pay, Paternity Pay, Adoption Pay, Shared Parental Pay, and Parental Bereavement Pay will increase to £187.18 per week.

The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 also comes into effect on April 6. This will grant eligible parents in England, Scotland, and Wales up to 12 weeks of additional leave and pay when their new-born requires neonatal care.

Car Tax increases

The new standard road tax rate, new taxes for electric vehicles (EVs), tax increases for low-emission vehicles and doubled first-year rates for high-polluting new cars will all come into effect from April 1.

Road tax exemption for electric vehicles will also end from this date.

The new standard road fund licence fee is £0 for cars with no taxable emissions, £245 for cars with 1-75 g/km emissions, and £575 for cars with 76-150 g/km emissions. For cars with 151-175 g/km emissions, the fee is £1,155, and it's £2,345 for cars with 176-225 g/km emissions. For cars with over 255 g/km emissions, the fee is £2,745.

Fees will increase significantly, with most of the higher tiers seeing fees double from last year's rates.

Models emitting over 255 g/km of CO2 will face the highest increase of £2,745, which will impact some of the most popular vehicles on the road.

The new Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020

The Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 aims to simplify the process for disclosing criminal history while enhancing the government’s Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme.

It will come into effect on April 1, and from this date, anyone carrying out a regulated role with children or protected adults will be legally required to be a member of the PVG scheme.

Local authorities and Integration Joint Boards will also have new powers from April 1 to make referrals to Disclosure Scotland in specific circumstances, such as during child and adult protection investigations.

The Act will also introduce simplified disclosure products, aiming to give individuals more control over their information.