UK high street bosses urge chancellor to cut cost of employing young people

Retailers are calling on John Healey, the UK Chancellor, to reduce the national insurance contributions threshold in his first budget. On Tuesday morning, some of the UK’s biggest retailers and hospitality businesses, including Tesco, Costa Coffee, and the Co-op, met with Healey to discuss the rising costs of employing young people.

During the meeting at No 11, sector leaders, including Stuart Machin, the boss of Marks & Spencer, and Simon Roberts, the chief executive of Sainsbury’s, expressed concerns about the impact of increased employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs). They are advocating for a partial reversal of the previous decision made by Healey’s predecessor, Rachel Reeves, which lowered the earnings threshold for NICs from £9,100 to £5,000 per year.

Retailers argue that this change has led to a significant decline in high street jobs for young people and part-time workers, contributing to rising youth unemployment. They propose raising the NICs threshold to £6,000, believing this adjustment would help create jobs and alleviate inflationary pressures on high streets.

Retail and hospitality firms are also hopeful that Healey will address the burden of business rates. A source close to the meeting noted, "It felt like they were listening."