Labour says that it may consider offering incentives for firms providing health and wellbeing benefits to staff and to those organisations paying a living wage were it to win the next general election.
Shadow minister for employment Steven Timms MP said it was possible plans to use national insurance exemptions to reward or incentivise introducing group risk or other similar benefits.
He noted that Labour had previously suggested the idea of a national insurance holiday for small firms taking on previously unemployed people for six months.
Speaking at the Role of employers in closing the protection gap event, Timms said: "We do think there could be potential to use it a little bit more widely, particularly given discussions that we've been having with employers about making it a fair amount easier for administrative simplification as well as the cost saving.
"How far we'll take that? We'll talk again in a few months' time. But in principal there are some possibilities there."
Timms added that getting employers to pay the living wage as their lowest pay level, rather than the national minimum wage, could also draw support.
"We talked as well about encouraging employers to adopt a living wage and we think there needs to be some reflection on the kinds of incentives that would encourage employers to do that as well," he continued.
"All of these things are matters that we want to have very serious and in depth discussion with employers about to make sure we get these judgement right and not come along with something after the election that seems a bit odd and doesn't really fit with what employers want to do."
