UK retail and hospitality bosses met with Chancellor John Healey on Tuesday to push for a cut to the cost of employing young people in his upcoming budget.
The delegation included chief executives from Tesco, Costa Coffee, the Co-op, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's. Stuart Machin, M&S boss, and Simon Roberts, Sainsbury's chief executive, attended the No 11 meeting.
The business leaders pressed Healey to reduce the national insurance contributions (Nics) threshold. The threshold determines the salary level at which employers must pay national insurance on wages. A lower threshold would increase costs for businesses; raising it would cut them.
Retailers and hospitality operators have cited the rise in employers' national insurance contributions as a particular concern for their sector, which relies heavily on younger and part-time workers whose salaries often fall near the current Nics threshold.
No details emerged about Healey's response or what threshold adjustment, if any, the businesses requested. The meeting took place days before the chancellor's first budget, giving the sector one final chance to lobby for policy changes before fiscal decisions take effect.