Concerns grow over incoming National Insurance increases

The number of small and medium sized businesses who are considering laying off staff as a result of the imminent increases to employer National Insurance and the national living wage has shot up by 8% in the months since the changes were announced last October reveals the Global Payroll Association (GPA).

The rate of employer class 1 NICs is to increase from 13.8% to 15% from April and the national living wage will rise to £12.21 an hour for over-21s.

Immediately after the Budget GPA surveyed UK small business owners to understand what impact these changes were likely to have; it has since recommissioned the survey to see how sentiment has changed. The results show that since November when 29% of SMEs said that the increase to employer NICs was going to put financial pressure on their business the figure has risen to 41%.

The...