To create a level playing field for recruitment and retention across the UK, the system for Employers' National Insurance must be harmonised.

Currently, the public sector holds an unfair advantage. It does not incur the cost of Employer’s National Insurance.

In public sector this frees up more money for wages and better terms, while the private sector must bear the full cost, putting it at a clear disadvantage when competing for talent. Making the government responsible for the cost across both departments would be a fiscally neutral act that corrects this imbalance.

Furthermore, when National Insurance was created to fund State Pensions and the NHS, it was based on contributions. This raises a critical point of fairness: if the public sector has not truly been paying its contribution, should its workers be entitled to the same State Pension?