National Insurance Relief When Hiring Veterans
20th February 2026
Introduced in April 2021 to help ease veterans into the civilian workplace by giving employers a relief on NI contributions for the first twelve months employment. A new NI code of V was introduced whereby no employer NI was raised on earnings beneath £50,270.00 (£4,189.17 per month)
The relief applies to any employer hiring a veteran in the first twelve months of their civilian employment and can be claimed against anyone who has served at least one day in the armed services. If the veteran has several employers throughout the first 12 months, each of those employers can claim the relief.
The scheme was due to last until March 2026, however in the 2025 budget it was announced that the scheme would be extended to April 2028.
