Check if you're eligible

You can claim Employment Allowance for the current tax year if both of the following apply:

  • you’re a business or public body
  • you do less than half your work in the public sector (such as for local councils and NHS services)

If your company has only one director, they must not be the only employee liable for secondary Class 1 National Insurance.

You can also claim Employment Allowance if: 

From April 2025, Employers paying more than £100,000 in Class 1 National Insurance liabilities can apply for Employment Allowance. The rules are different if you claim for previous tax years.

Employees you cannot include in your claim

Certain employees cannot be included in your claim, such as:

If you’re part of a group

If you’re part of a group of charities or companies (also known as connected companies), only one company in the group can claim the allowance.

If you have more than one payroll 

You can only claim Employment Allowance against one of the payrolls.