Thousands of town hall staff kept off payroll to avoid full tax

Town halls across London are using “BBC-style” payment schemes which help staff avoid full income tax, the Standard has learned.

Thousands of local government workers are paid “off-payroll”, allowing councils to sidestep huge sums in national insurance.

The figures come after the BBC was forced to review the freelance contracts of more than 800 staff, including Jeremy Paxman and Fiona Bruce, who were being paid through their own firms.

The Local Government Association suggested the practice was not wide-spread in town halls.

But Freedom of Information requests found that Westminster, Wandsworth, Croydon, Hounslow, Kingston-upon-Thames and other councils were paying staff off-payroll or through personal service companies.

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