A new National Insurance Contributions (NICs) holiday scheme to encourage new business start-ups in key UK regions has been launched.
The Regional Employer NICs Holiday for New Businesses offers substantial reductions in employer NICs for new businesses in those parts of the UK most reliant on public sector employment.

Under the three-year scheme, eligible businesses will be able to take a holiday for each of the first 10 employees they hire in their first year of business. Each holiday will last for the first 52 weeks the employee is in post (providing these weeks fall within the three-year holiday period).

New businesses which take advantage of the scheme will be able to save up to £50,000 in employer NICs which is £5,000 per employee, up to a maximum of 10 new employees.

Within the UK, the regions and countries that will benefit are the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West, the East Midlands, the West Midlands, the South West, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The scheme is open to new businesses set up on or after June 22 2010, and will run until September 5 2013.

'We need to rebalance our economy, which has become over reliant on public spending and jobs provided by the public sector,' said exchequer secretary to the treasury, David Gauke, speaking at the launch.

'The NICs holiday for new businesses, in addition to cuts in corporation tax, will help provide a valuable boost to start-up businesses, and help foster the private-sector-led recovery that will drive growth in the UK during the coming years.'

To find out if they are eligible for the holiday, and for further information on the scheme, new businesses should visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/nicsholiday and read the guidance. Eligible businesses should then make their application as outlined in the guidance.