Payroll blunder sees HMRC pursue teachers for more tax

The error involving one of the county's largest academy trusts has seen staff sent letters from His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) informing them they owe large amounts of unpaid tax.

Around 300 employees at the Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust have been caught up in the blunder.

The letters began after the organisation, which runs 40 schools in Norfolk, changed its payroll provider from a company called EPM Ltd to another called Edupay.

It is understood that during the changeover, the tax office was mistakenly provided with two sets of details - leading to it appearing as though employees had two jobs with the trust rather than one.

However, with the trust continuing to make its correct tax deductions, staff began to receive "threatening" letters from HMRC demanding more money.

The issue has been rumbling on for months with some staff told they owe as much as £7,000, with deductions already taken from monthly pay packets.

The academies trust, which employs more than 1,000 people, says it has provided information to HMRC to correct the error.

But the tax office is continuing to pursue workers and, in some cases, make deductions.

One teacher affected, who did not wish to be named, was told in February 2023 that she owed more than £2,000.

In December that year and January this year the tax office made extra deductions of £900.

The mother-of-one, who compared the ordeal to the Post Office scandal, said: "It has caused me a lot of distress and worry and I know that I'm not alone.

"The time I have spent making phone calls to try and sort this out has been exhausting and it could not have happened at a worse time with the cost of living crisis.

"Nobody tends to have much money around Christmas which has made matters worse."

"It all feels very confusing and nobody really seems to know what is going on."

Scott Lyons, district secretary of the National Education Union (Image: Archant)

Scott Lyons, district secretary of the National Education Union said that several members had come to the union for support.

He said: "We have been involved for the last six months and although the trust seems to be trying its best to deal with it positively, HMRC has appeared very unhelpful.

"We have members who have received threatening and really aggressive letters from them.

"It must be really scary for them and I know people have needed a lot of emotional wellbeing support in the background."

Oliver Burwood, chief executive of DNEAT (Image: DNEAT)

Oliver Burwood, DNEAT's chief executive officer, said: “DNEAT takes its responsibility to its over one thousand employees extremely seriously.

"We do not think that any errors are acceptable in relation to pay and we have been working with our payroll provider Edupay and HMRC to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.

"We are absolutely committed to making payments to staff where needed, and as we wait for HMRC to update their systems based on information that we have sent them.”

An HMRC spokesman said: “The tax collected for PAYE customers is based on information provided by their employer.

“Where PAYE customers receive unexpected tax bills, we will work with them and their employer to put things right.”