Counting the cost of business as new rises come into effect
Retailers will be putting staff recruitment on hold and increasing the costs of their products and services as they come to terms with the rises in NICs and NLW.
Businesses are now being hit with a raft of new increases, as parts of Labour’s Autumn Budget come into effect on 1st April, piling further financial pressure on retailers across the region.
With an increase in employers’ National Insurance Contributions, National Living Wage and Business Rates, businesses are being hit with a triple whammy of rises.
Noted as being the largest increase to rates on record, it is the retail sector set to be hardest hit – it has long been the sector employing young staff, with many at school and university often experiencing retail as their first foray into the world of employment.
From CTNs to larger convenience stores, wholesalers and suppliers, they have been coming to terms with the full reality of what this will mean for their business, assessing the potential implications for them and the impact on their staff and businesses in both the short and long term.
One store owner told Neighbourhood Retailer that the cost to their business will be in excess of £15,000 per annum, while another revealed they had already cut their opening hours in a bid to address the incoming rises and have put planned expansion on hold also.
In a special feature in the next issue of Neighbourhood Retailer, we hear from several businesses across Northern Ireland, who have voiced their concerns and outlined clearly the impact these rises will have on them, painting a stark picture for many businesses across Northern Ireland.
Keep an eye out for the April issue of NR coming soon.
