A pub landlord has said he will have to find an extra £650 per staff member after changes to businesses were announced in the autumn budget. 

Connor Hancox has said that small businesses are 'going to struggle' and predicts 'a lot more pubs will close' after the autumn budget. 

The 23-year-old landlord manages The New Moston Inn on Belgrave Road, just a 19-minute drive from Oldham town centre.

The pub's popularity saw a huge increase earlier this year after Connor took the helm, with customers labelling it a 'hidden gem'

Many people have taken note of the 1.7 per cent decrease in tax on qualifying draught products which Chancellor Rachel Reeves says will knock a 'penny off a pint'. 

However, Connor is among landlords across the country warning that this simply won't be the case. 

He said: "We had customers in here watching the budget and they immediately asked if they'd be getting cheaper pints, but the answer is no. 

"I know that the tax on the draught gets decreased but what they failed to explain was the tax on the spirits, the crisps and the confectionary will all increase.

"The major hit though that all of us pubs are going to have is the employer national insurance contributions, with this place it's going to add on an extra £650 a year more per staff member and that's before the national minimum wage increases because all my staff are over 21.

"Many businesses won't survive around here and it's going to crush quite a lot of them."

Connor explained that the national minimum wage increases for 18-21-year-olds will make it more expensive to hire new people with less experience and train them.

He also added that many businesses around him will likely stop employing younger people as hiring anyone under 21 will cost just as much as hiring someone with years of experience. 

The national insurance contribution (NICs) employers must pay has been increased from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent and will take hold from April 6, 2025.

The government has also significantly reduced the threshold at which employers must start paying NICs from £9,100 to £5,000 per year from April 6, 2025 until April 5,2028, when it will be increased by the consumer price index.

Connor added that he personally would 'much prefer' to hire younger people, especially given his own young age, as he wants to be able to give them a chance to gain experience. 

He said: "The New Moston is an amazing pub and it's here to help other people, but hiring younger people now is going to have an impact on businesses, which will need to cut back on jobs."

Connor also explained that he'd spoken with fellow landlords who had told him they would no longer be hiring younger people as they simply couldn't afford it.

The minimum wage for people aged 18-21 will increase from £8.60 to £10 an hour, a £1.40 increase.

The young landlord added: "Everyone, including myself, knew that the taxes would go up but to be fair any political party would have needed to do the same thing. 

"I'd agree to the extent that this budget hasn't been very good for small businesses, it's going to make them struggle now. 

"They were struggling before and they're going to struggle again and a lot more pubs and businesses are going to close.

"I think the government have hit the wrong area, they should be focussing on housing and bringing the cost of rent down, instead of taking tax off draught by a penny. 

"A penny is nothing anymore."