Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Employee-shareholdersEconomics, government & businessPay & benefits

Budget cuts employers’ national insurance contributions

by David Challinor 20 Mar 2013
by David Challinor 20 Mar 2013

George Osborne’s Budget for “an aspirational nation” has set out important changes for UK employers. The Chancellor today announced that, from April 2014, the first £2,000 will be taken off employers’ national insurance bills. It is intended to help all British firms, especially small ones looking to recruit.

“It’s a tax off jobs,” he said, “and it’s worth up to £2,000 to every business in the country – 450,000 small businesses will pay no jobs tax at all come April 2014, and this is available to charities and sports clubs.”

There was also a promise of support for employers that help staff return to work from long-term sick leave, with the Government introducing tax relief of up to £500 on amounts paid by employers on health-related interventions.

Ben Willmott, head of public policy at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, welcomed the move: “Research shows that the longer people are off sick, the less likely they are to make a successful return to work; after six months’ absence from work, there is only a 50% chance of someone making a successful return.” 

He added: “Anything that encourages more employers to look after the health of their workforce can only be a good thing – for employers and employees alike.”

Terry Woolmer, head of health and safety policy at manufacturers’ organisation the EEF, said: “This is welcome recognition that these investments support growth by helping employees get back to work earlier.”

In other measures, the Chancellor announced a doubling to £10,000 the maximum amount that companies can loan to their employees tax-free for benefits such as rail season tickets and confirmed the Government’s tax-free childcare package, which had been revealed the day before he made his speech.

The Budget also revealed that the employee-shareholder status would come into law on 1 September 2013. Employee shareholders will have different employee rights and shares worth a minimum of £2,000 in the firm they work for. As previously announced, the Government will exempt gains on up to £50,000 of shares acquired by employee shareholders from capital gains tax.

The Government has additionally decided that the first £2,000 of share value that anyone receives under the new status will be free from income tax and national insurance contributions from 1 September 2013, supporting the recommendations of the Nuttall Review. A sum of £50 million annually from 2014-15 has been earmarked to be used to respond to recommendations from the review and other relevant organisations that aim to encourage employee ownership. It will also be used to fund the introduction of a capital gains tax relief on the sale of a controlling interest in a business into an employee ownership structure.

Osborne announced that the single-tier state pension would be introduced from 2016, a year earlier than previously planned.Charles Cotton, rewards adviser at the CIPD, said: “By bringing forward the implementation of a simple, easy to understand baseline pension, the Government is speeding up employers’ ability to encourage more workers to invest more in their pensions savings, to boost retirement incomes closer to the levels most would aspire to.”

In addition, it was announced that the Government will extend the restraint on public sector pay for a further year, by limiting increases to an average of up to 1% in 2015-16.

For further detailed analysis on the Budget 2013, including further detail on the cap on public sector pay increases, visit XpertHR.

Avatar
David Challinor

previous post
Protection for NHS whistleblowers confirmed
next post
Government yet to confirm date for harassment and discrimination changes

You may also like

Gender pay gap ‘won’t close until 2151’

27 Jun 2022

PwC to award inflation-busting pay increase

27 Jun 2022

Graduate salaries rise sharply as search for talent...

27 Jun 2022

‘Ministers must increase employee mileage rates’ as costs...

23 Jun 2022

Six findings from the national living wage review

22 Jun 2022

Inflation in May 2022 at 40-year high, as...

22 Jun 2022

‘General strike’ threat looms as unions voice pay...

20 Jun 2022

The heat is on and so is some...

17 Jun 2022

Google to pay $118m to settle equal pay...

15 Jun 2022

Cost of living: real wages fall 2.2% in...

14 Jun 2022
  • NSPCC revamps its learning strategy with child wellbeing at its heart PROMOTED | The NSPCC’s mission is to prevent abuse and neglect...Read more
  • Diversity versus inclusion: Why the difference matters PROMOTED | It’s possible for an environment to be diverse, but not inclusive...Read more
  • Five steps for organisations across the globe to become more skills-driven PROMOTED | The shift in the world of work has been felt across the globe...Read more
  • The future of workforce development PROMOTED | Northumbria University and partners share insight...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+