Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King has called for Chancellor George Osborne to give businesses a National Insurance holiday to encourage job creation in tomorrow’s Budget.

King, speaking as the grocer reported full year like-for-likes up 1.8%, said: “Jobs are the most powerful force for good. A National Insurance holiday for six or 12 months will encourage companies to take on new employees.”

He said job creation would be “good for everyone” as there would be more people in work and “more people off benefits”.

Sainsbury’s will create 6,000 jobs in the year ahead.

King also said he hoped there would be “no shocks for consumers” in tomorrow’s Budget. “It’s important to regain confidence over time and there should be no nasty surprises to shake that confidence,” he said.

Retail Week and the British Retail Consortium are campaigning for a fairer business rates system, and for the Chancellor to freeze the scheduled rates increase in tomorrow’s Budget. However, at Retail Week Live last week, business secretary Vince Cable said there would be no announcement on business rates in the Budget.

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