UK firms ditch permanent staff as costs surge

British employers are quietly abandoning permanent hiring for temporary workers as statutory costs spiral. Permanent placements fell at the fastest rate since January while temp billings hit 2.5-year highs in April. The shift follows April's employer National Insurance rise from 13.8 to 15 percent and the threshold drop from £9,100 to £5,000, making each full-time worker at least £2,500 more expensive annually. Companies are using temps to bypass headcount freezes and test roles before committing to permanent payroll expansion. Hospitality alone faces a 54 percent jump in employer NIC costs for minimum-wage workers, turning what was already a tight labour market into a gig economy by necessity.