Business and MP get a shot in the arm
A BOROUGH MP got more than he bargained for when he visited a Northwood pharmacy benefitting from a government tax cut.
Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner MP Nick Hurd visited Sharman’s Pharmacy in Clive Parade, Northwood, to hear how the business has benefitted from the Government’s Employment Allowance, introduced in April.
The allowance is a reduction in National Insurance (NI) contributions that an employer pays for its employees.
The allowance is worth up to £2,000 off the NI bill of every employer and is open to businesses, charities and community amateur sports clubs.
Using the benefit means a business could now hire someone on £22,400 a year, or four people working full-time on the minimum wage, and not have to pay any employer NI contributions.
The shot in the arm has allowed Sharman’s Pharmacy, which has been running in Northwood for more than 120 years, to take on an extra pharmacist and offer new services, including the winter flu jab, which Mr Hurd was given on his visit.
The MP said: “The owners of Sharman’s were quite clear. The new Employment Allowance had been the nudge they needed to offer a new job.
“I got the point, in this case literally, so I am very keen that other employers in the area are aware of the opportunity.
“I want to try and help make it easy for them to grow and create more jobs,” he said.