By GB News (Politics) | Created at 2026-09-03 11:56:40 | Updated at 2026-09-03 12:41:22
58 minutes ago
Chancellor John Healey is being urged to increase the employer National Insurance Contributions threshold by £1,000 in his forthcoming Autumn Budget.
In a letter sent to the Treasury, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) pressed for the threshold to be lifted from its current level of £5,000 to £6,000, arguing the move would stimulate job creation across the sector.
The BRC contends that such a change would particularly benefit entry-level positions, which have been hardest hit by rising employment costs.
As the country's biggest private sector employer, the retail industry and its wider supply chain provide jobs in communities of every size, from remote villages to major cities, making the stakes considerable for workers nationwide.
John Healey is preparing to unveil next month's Budget
Alterations to the National Insurance contribution threshold introduced in the 2024 Budget, which took effect from April 2025, saddled retailers with an additional £1.74billion in costs alone.
When combined with a higher headline rate of employer National Insurance contributions and two successive above-inflation increases to the National Living Wage, the industry's total employment bill has ballooned by £6.5billion over a two-year period.
Analysis shows that the consequences for the workforce have been severe, with 115,000 retail positions disappearing in just two years.
The sector serves as a critical first step into employment for young and less experienced workers, with nearly one in four people beginning their working lives in a retail role.
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Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the changes in her first Budget
The retail sector faces a uniquely heavy burden from these changes owing to its workforce composition.
More than half of all roles in the industry, 55 per cent, are part-time, which meant a significant number of workers fell within the employer National Insurance contribution threshold for the first time following the 2024 Budget changes.
Employing someone full-time in an entry-level role became 15 per cent more expensive over the two-year period.
Part-time positions were hit even harder, with costs climbing by 19 per cent.
Helen Dickinson, the BRC's chief executive, said: "Retail has always been one of the great gateways into work, giving millions of people their first job and the skills and confidence to build a career.
"Previous changes to National Insurance contributions hit retail disproportionately hard and soaring employment costs are making it harder for retailers to offer the crucial entry-level roles that so many young people rely on.
"The Chancellor can turn the tide on unemployment and tackle the NEETs crisis that is robbing a generation of young people of opportunity. Raising the NICs threshold to £6,000 would boost retail job creation and ease the inflationary pressures bearing down on the industry and its customers."
Beyond the NICs threshold, the BRC's letter also pushed for action on escalating energy taxes and levies faced by retailers, a halt to automatic inflationary uplifts to business rates, and the exclusion of all shops from the high-value multiplier brought in at the 2025 Budget.
