Income Tax for permitted work on ESA

[rdm2006]

Hi wonder if anyone knows anything about this.

 

I am on ESA. I do voluntary work for the NHS and I do 12 hours per week permitted work (also NHS) for which I am paid

 

I have volunteered for 4 years now and done permitted work for 3 years (I am in the support group so no 12 month limit)

 

As I do not work for 16 hours or more i do not get holidays, however, in june this year i received a backpayment of just under £700.00.

 

I automatically rang the pay department thinking that a mistake had been made and the money was not mine. The advisor said that under the WTD (Working Time Directive) i had to be paid an extra 12% as i do not get holidays and that they had to do this to comply with the eu law/regulations so it was mine, and as they had never paid it to me, i got all previous 2years plus the current year to date.

 

Due to this payment I had to pay tax, however, the payment included backpay £290 for 14/15 and £330 for 15/16 and only £70.00 for this year.

 

In the two previous years my work was occasional (just to cover people who were off, but still just 12 hours in any 1 week)

so together with my ESA payments i never earned over my allowance and would not have been taxed had it been paid at the correct time.

 

When contacting the tax office for a refund of tax paid on these two amounts they say that it does not matter when it was earned tax is paid when the money is paid to you.

 

This just doesn't seem right to me, i am being penalised for someone elses mistake. anyone know anything about tax here????

[rdm2006]

Since both HMRC and NHS is government owned then the government is making money from its own mistakes grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr