The Employment Allowance was launched in April 2014 for all eligible businesses and charities. The allowance is offset against the employer’s Class 1 secondary National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and can be claimed through the regular payroll processes.

The Employment Allowance will rise to £3,000 (from £2,000) in April of this year. This means that businesses will be able to employ 4 people earning the new National Living Wage without having to pay any employer’s Class 1 secondary NICs. The move will also remove some 90,000 employers from paying NICs.

HMRC has also recently published a policy paper confirming that from 6 April 2016 eligibility to claim the Employment Allowance will be removed from limited companies with a single director, and no other employees. This measure could affect up to 150,000 limited companies and has been put in place to ensure that companies with a single director and no employees do not benefit from an allowance designed to help small businesses take on additional staff.