National insurance increases forces Wendover business to reduce staff capacity

National insurance hikes, which came into force yesterday (Sunday 04), has forced Buckinghamshire businesses to anticipate the change and prepare for increased pressures.

Rumsey’s Chocolatery is a prime example of small businesses feeling the pinch and having to adapt their trade.

Operating for over two decades on Wendover High Street and with a second location in Thame, Oxfordshire, Rumsey’s is well-known for its handmade chocolates and café experience.

Despite the company’s longstanding presence, owner Kate Ramsey said recent pressures have been unprecedented.

Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, she said: "We have just celebrated 21 years here in Wendover, right on the High Street. But over the last couple of years, the price of cocoa has skyrocketed."

With the changes to National Insurance contributions, and last week's wage increase, the previously manageable pressures are now putting the business further at risk.

"We calculated that it was a 15% increase in our labour cost year on year and our labour costs are our biggest expense.

"We have had to look at our opening hours a little bit… There has been some small amount of redundancies, there’s been a freeze on hiring.

"We also had to kind of cut back a little bit on our menu or on our product offering."

Ms Ramsey also expressed concern that despite government rhetoric about supporting hospitality, the action may be coming too slowly for many small businesses.

She said: "My worry is that it's not going to come fast enough. I don't think a lot of small businesses will survive the next year without support coming a bit sooner.

"I think the High Street is going to look quite different in a year or so’s time."

Last week, MP Greg Smith raised a question to the Prime Minister in the House of Commons, fighting the cause of Rumsey's, a business out of many in the county left at risk.

In response to the question, Sir Keir Starmer responded that the previous government left a £22 billion blackhole", "crashed the economy" and "ruined our public services".