Employers in new companies could be given a national insurance contribution holiday for new staff in a bid to create 60,000 jobs.

Under plans to be unveiled by the shadow chancellor George Osborne at the Conservative Party Conference today, employers will be given a tax break on National Insurance Contributions for the first 10 employees they recruit in order to ‘get Britain working'.

The Forum of Private Business has cautiously welcomed the proposal. Its chief executive, Phil Orford, said: "For prospective employers, as one of a raft of measures aimed at getting Britain back to work and boosting the country's skills base, abolishing National Insurance for new start-ups stands out as today's key announcement.

"At present, employers' NI contributions are set to rise by 0.5% from 2011, just as small businesses are likely to be in a position to recruit staff in earnest. We will examine the savings that will need to be made to pay for this initiative, but welcome it in principle as a genuine stimulus to employment, small business growth and sustained economic recovery."