You could save on National Insurance Contributions

From April 2021 employers who take on a veteran of the Armed Forces will not have to pay Employers National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for the first 12 months of their employment.  This applies to any employee you take on who has previously served for any period of time in the Armed Forces and is in their first civilian employment since they left the Armed Forces.

The relief is available if you employed a veteran before 6 April 2021 but only for the remaining months of their first 12 months of their employment.

During the tax year 2021-22 you will have to pay the National Insurance contributions but will be able to claim these back from April 2022 when the relief will be available directly through payroll as it is currently for employees who are under 21 or apprentices who are under 25.

If the employee moves to another employer during the first 12 months of their employment the new employer can apply the relief for the months remaining.

You can find out more about NIC relief when employing veterans of the Armed Forces on the HMRC website.