Lib Dems call for hospitality industry to be exempt from NICs hike as Scottish businesses face £369m “jobs tax” bombshell

Liberal Democrat Scottish affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine MP has today called on the UK Government to exempt the hospitality industry from their “misguided” national insurance hike or risk many hospitality businesses “going to the wall”.

It comes as new Liberal Democrat research has revealed that the Scottish hospitality industry is facing a £369.3 million tax bombshell over the next five years due to the UK Government’s National Insurance hike.

The data showed that in 2025-26 the additional tax bill for hospitality businesses is estimated at around £71.8 million.

Many hospitality businesses have been ringing alarm bells about the damage this “jobs tax” could do to their industry.

The Liberal Democrats are also calling on the UK Government to negotiate a Youth Mobility Visa scheme with the EU so that businesses can recruit the workers they need to fill vacancies.

The Institute of Directors has said it “would be particularly beneficial for sectors like hospitality… which typically employ large numbers of young people and have struggled to find workers following the loss of movement of potential recruits between the EU”.

Lib Dem Scottish affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said:

“Restaurants, pubs and hotels across Scotland are warning that the UK Government’s national insurance hike risks many of them going to the wall, but the Chancellor just doesn’t seem to be listening.

“Local businesses like these are the beating heart of our communities, but many are struggling after years of Conservative economic vandalism and poor growth under the SNP. This jobs tax would hammer them again, hitting growth and putting thousands of jobs at risk.

“To get our economy growing strongly, we should be helping our hospitality sector, not hurting it. That is why Scottish Liberal Democrats secured substantial business rates relief for hospitality in the Scottish Budget.

"The UK Government needs to do far more to support hospitality. Instead of ploughing ahead with this misguided tax hike, the Chancellor needs to listen to local businesses and scrap it now.”