Ceredigion MP Mark Williams has welcomed the news that 1,200 Ceredigion businesses have benefited since the introduction of the Employment Allowance in April of this year.

The Employment Allowance, introduced at the start of the financial year, allows businesses and charities throughout the UK to benefit from a reduction of up to £2,000 every year in their employer Class 1 National Insurance bill.

This measure supports businesses, and is helping to create jobs in the UK as a result.

As a result of the Employment Allowance, a business employing one person on a salary of £22,400, or four adults full-time on the National Minimum Wage will pay no employer National Insurance Contributions at all, and a business employing three people on the average private sector wages will see their typical NICs cut by 25%.

Figures published by the Treasury this month indicate that 1,200 employers in Ceredigion have taken up this allowance, and also show that almost 70% of the employers eligible for this across the whole of the UK have already claimed their Employment Allowance.

Mr Williams said: “I am very glad many employers in Ceredigion have already taken up and are benefitting from the Employment Allowance. Ceredigion is home to many small business and they are so vital to our local economy, so this support from the Government is very welcome.

"Take up of the Allowance seems to have been good over the past six months since its introduction – and I would encourage everyone in Ceredigion who runs a business to check their eligibility for the Employment Allowance, and start benefiting from a reduction in their National Insurance Contributions."

For more information visit www.gov.uk/employment-allowance.