Top 10 ways Dorset businesses can mitigate National Insurance changes

There are less than two weeks to go before significant changes to National Insurance contributions (NICs) will affect UK businesses.
In light of that, a south coast accountancy and business advisory firm has come up with 10 ways to mitigate the major NIC changes which kick in on April 6.
HWB Chartered Accountants has produced a free checklist for the county’s 127,564 registered companies, along with many other businesses.
Director James Alesbury said: “The NICs rate will increase from 13.8% to 15%, and the secondary threshold will decrease from £9,100 to £5,000.
“This means, for an employee with an annual salary of £37,000, an employer's NICs will increase by £950 per year.
“For a business with 20 employees, this could mean an additional £19,000 in costs and a huge extra burden on stretched resources.
“We feel it is crucial that directors and business leaders are fully informed about the steps they can take at this time to mitigate the National Insurance changes as best as possible.
“To give something back to the community in which we operate, we have come up a Top 10 strategies list to not only cut costs but also boost the business and keep staff on side.”
Top 10 strategies to mitigate National Insurance changes
1. Utilise the increased Employment Allowance, which rises from £5,000 to £10,500 from April 2025. This allowance is available to all eligible businesses regardless of previous NICs liabilities.
2. Review payroll practices and consider implementing efficient payroll software.
3. Introduce or enhance salary sacrifice schemes for benefits such as pensions or electric vehicles which can reduce NICs liability. For example, an employee earning £37,000, paying 5% into their pension via salary sacrifice could save an employer £278 annually and the employee would also be £148 better off.
4. Explore flexible working arrangements.
5. Outsource non-core functions to reduce payroll costs.
6. Invest in employee training and development to improve productivity.
7. Review pricing strategies to offset additional overheads.
8. Improve cash flow management with accurate forecasting.
9. Invest in technology to streamline processes.
10. Consider foregoing pay rises to meet the new obligations.
James, who has been with HWB since 2010, stressed that any business seeking to implement radical changes should take professional advice first.