BRITAIN’S army of small businesses last night warned Boris Johnson his pledge to raise the minimum wage to £10.50 will cripple them.
They warn that the rise from £8.21 an hour for over-25s risks thousands of them going under.
In a set of manifesto demands sent to both main parties, the Federation of Small Businesses has called for a minimum £1,000 increase in the Employment Allowance.
Currently, companies do not have to pay employer National Insurance Contributions — known as the jobs tax — on the first £3,000 of their bill. That rate was set in 2016 when the National Living Wage was introduced.
But the FSB says increasing the buffer by £1,000 would help with the cost of employing people and offset the increased wages companies will have to pay.
Its Back to Business manifesto also urges the next Government to extend maternity and paternity pay to self- employed people who choose to adopt.
FSB national chairman Mike Cherry said: “For the last three years, the interminable uncertainty around Brexit has dragged focus, attention and imagination away from the task of helping the UK’s 5.8million small businesses to survive, grow and enhance our communities. It’s time to get back to business.
“We are urging all candidates standing at this election to listen to, and make every effort to understand, the challenges faced by small firms in the communities they hope to represent.
