Amendments from across different parties have been put forward.
MPs from across the UK Parliament will attempt to mitigate the effects of a proposed rise in National Insurance on charities in Westminster this week.
Amendments to the National Insurance Contributions (NICs) (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill, published on Friday, show a number of motions from MPs of different parties which seek to reduce the burden on the third sector.
In the budget announced in October, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed plans to increase the rate of employer National Insurance by 1.2 percentage points, to 15% from 6 April 2025.
The Secondary Threshold – the level at which employers become liable to pay national insurance on each employee’s salary – will reduce from £9,100 per year to £5,000 per year.
Organisations will also be allowed to to employ up to four National Living Wage workers full time without paying employer National Insurance on their wages, under the plans.
Voices from across the sector have raised concerns about the potential cost of the move, with SCVO warning that these changes will cost voluntary sector employers in Scotland £75million per year, plus inflation.
Some voluntary organisations face additional costs of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Across the UK, the voluntary sector is a significant employer, employing over 1 million people, including 133,000 people in Scotland - 5% of Scotland’s workforce.
Politicians will attempt to amend the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on Tuesday, with legislative attempts coming from SNP MP Dave Doogan, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Daisy Cooper MP, and independent MP Shockat Adam.
Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Gareth Davies, and Alliance Party MP Sorcha Eastwood, have also brought forward amendments to the bill.
The proposals from MPs would see provisions put in place to keep the rate of NICs at 13.8% for a range of charities and sector bodies, with the moves to be put to a vote in Westminster.
The move comes after the Labour Government ignored warnings from the voluntary sector about the consequences of hiking national insurance for employers as the party outlined its first budget since taking office in July.
This was despite charity leaders across the UK pleading with Ms Reeves not to impose employer National Insurance (NI) increases on the sector.
