Not so with the Employment allowance launched in April 2014.
All businesses who have at least one member of staff on the payroll can claim an allowance to reduce their employers National Insurance Contributions (NICS) by £2,000 per annum and claiming this could not be easier.
A claim is made through the running of your payroll and you will pay no Employers NIC’s until you have used an amount of £2,000 as an allowance. This serves to reduce your PAYE payment to HMRC.
You are not made to wait a long time to claim this, if you have Employers NICS of £2,000 or more a month, you will receive the full £2,000 allowance in the first month of the tax year.
If you are a small business and you have an annual Employers liability of £2,000 or less you will simply pay no Employers NIC at all.
This is a real help to small businesses already employing staff and a great incentive to newer businesses thinking about taking on a first member of staff.
Employing staff is a big decision for a small business but this simple scheme offers genuine financial assistance and is something all small business owners should be aware of.