The hidden labour cost looming for thousands of UK businesses

The 75 per cent business rate discount for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) businesses is set to drop to 40 per cent next month - (Getty Images)

For businesses across the UK, the start of the new financial year in April is a particularly difficult time of the year. Changes to energy bills, contracted costs like broadband or mobile phones and so on all represent one thing: rising costs.

But this year it’s likely to be even worse: the rise in National Insurance costs and an increased minimum wage means SMEs and multinational corporations alike across the UK will have been planning and working out for weeks now how they can absorb, or pass on, the increased expenses.