From April, the rate employers pay in National Insurance will rise from 13.8% to 15%, and the threshold at which they start paying the tax on each employee’s salary will be reduced from £9,100 per year to £5,000.

Darren Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury, told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that the changes had been designed in a way “that tried to limit the extra cost on small business”.

Signatories of the letter include Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, the bosses of pub firms Fuller’s and Stonegate Group, and Premier Inn’s owner, Whitbread.

They are supported by a further 209 businesses, together employing tens of thousands of people across the UK.

According to the letter, the cost increases will cause jobs to be “drastically” cut and hours to be reduced for workers.

Ms Nicholls told the BBC that firms in the industry facing these “tough decisions” may also reconsider investing.

“We understand that the government has a tough job to do,” she said, but urged politicians to “have a rethink”.

Jones said that the government would not reassess the plan, and that many employers would pay the same in NI contributions as they do now, or less.

“I think the public would recognise that bigger businesses are able to burden some of the contributions that we need to make to the state.

“Getting the NHS back on its feet so workers who are off sick can get back to work is probably something that we’d say we’d all benefit from,” he added.