SMEs
How SMEs are rethinking employee benefits & health insurance
Retaining your best people in 2026 is a top priority, but in today’s job market, it can sometimes feel like a struggle… especially for SMEs who are managing tight budgets. For many businesses, it feels important to reward your team and this is a surefire way to stand out against other employers, yet the cost […]
Why health insurance is the best retention tool for UK SMEs
In 2026, keeping your best people is one of the toughest challenges for UK SMEs. In a tight talent market, it’s becoming clear that businesses need to be offering more than a competitive salary to build a loyal team. But if pay isn’t enough, it leads to the question, what really makes employees stay? While […]
How Apprenticeships Help SMEs Hire Responsibly and Build Skills
For too long, hiring has been treated like a numbers game. Post a role. Sort through hundreds of CVs. And hope the right person stands out. But for many UK employers, especially small and medium-sized businesses, the reality looks very different. Traditional recruitment is slow, expensive and biased towards outdated credentials. We found that 3 […]
Government red tape risks blocking youth jobs as SMEs look to access apprenticeship scheme
LONDON, 9 February 2026: The Government’s apprenticeship reforms could unlock a youth hiring breakthrough or fall victim to bureaucracy. New research from Employment Hero, the global leader in HR, hiring and payroll software, shows 73% of SME leaders are ready to take advantage of new support announced in last year’s Autumn Budget. The same data […]
Employment shrinks 0.4% as SMEs prepare for new costs
London, 17 March: Employment continued to retract in February following the Government’s decision to hike job taxes, findings from Employment Hero Jobs Report shows. Employment Hero’s SmartMatch Employment Report uses real-time data from 105,000 employees across small and medium-sized businesses with 1-500 employees in the UK. Data from the end of February showed that employment […]
Pay growth flat at 0% as SMEs prepare for jobs tax
London, XX February: Workers at UK SMEs are not seeing sustained growth in wages as their employers prepare to pay the Government more from April, not their employees, as new legislation announced at October’s Budget kicks in. Employment Hero’s SmartMatch Salary Report uses real-time data from 90,000 employees across small businesses with 1-500 employees in […]
New data reveals true impact of National Insurance hike on SMEs
LONDON, 6 APRIL 2025: The imminent changes to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will hit medium-sized businesses hard, with companies employing 20 or more staff facing costs of £8,472 annually, according to new analysis from Employment Hero. The changes, which come into effect on Sunday, 6 April, were announced in the October Budget and have […]