The coalition government’s National Insurance Contributions (NICs) ‘holiday’ does not go far enough to support business growth, according to Phil Handley, operations director at IT, engineering and legal recruiter IntaPeople.

The ‘holiday’, introduced this week, ensures businesses established outside of London, the South-East and East of England are eligible for the ‘holiday’ worth up to £5,000 for the first 10 employees they hire in their first year of business, as announced in the coalition government’s June Budget.

But Handley questions whether the holiday will provide enough of an incentive for aspiring entrepreneurs to develop their plans.

“While we welcome the introduction of a National Insurance break for start-ups, we’re not convinced that it goes far enough. Given the uncertain economic climate and a prevailing fear that there may yet be more rises to come, a one-year NIC holiday is perhaps not as attractive as it first seems.

 “More needs to be done to nurture business growth in the long term if the private sector is really expected to pick up the fallout from the public sector. Businesses need to feel confident that they will be supported by the government for years to come, which is unfortunately not the case at the moment.”